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Organ transplant: Donor asks court to deny Ekweremadu access to bio-data

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David Ukpo, the kidney donor, has urged a Federal High Court, Abuja to set aside its order made on July 1, directing some agencies of government and banks to release his bio-data to former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice.

Ukpo, who is currently in the United Kingdom (UK) in connection with the child trafficking charge against the Ekweremadus, said granting the couple’s request violated his fundamental rights to privacy guaranteed by Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Ukpo, through his lawyer, Bamidele Igbinedion, filed the motion on notice on August 15 before Justice Inyang Ekwo.

On June 27,  Ekweremadu and wife had, in an application dated and filed on June 27 by Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, sued the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and four others following the criminal charge filed against them in the UK.

Others mentioned in the suit are the Comptroller General (C-G), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS); Stanbic-IBTC Bank; United Bank of Africa (UBA) and Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc as 2nd to 5th respondents respectively.

They had sought the order of the court directing all the respondents to release to them certified true copies of Ukpo’s bio-data information in their care to enable them to present the documents before the UK court and the judge granted the request on July 1.

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Besides, Ekwo also made an order on July 6, directing NIMC to release Ukpo’s information to the Ekweremadus in line with their earlier court order.

But Ukpo, who sought an order setting aside the court proceedings and ruling made on July 1, also prayed for an order setting aside the proceedings and the order made on July, 6 in the suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/984/22.

Beside these prayers, Ukpo sought an order of perpetual injunction, restraining Ekweremadu and his wife and all the respondents from executing or further execute the ruling.

“A further order setting aside the execution or any execution of or compliance with the ruling delivered by this Honourable Court on the 1s! day of July 2022 and the Order of this Honourable Court made on the 6th day of July 2022 in suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/984/2022 by any of the respondents”

In a  17-ground given by Ukpo, he said the court lacked the jurisdiction ab initio to have entertained the suit or granted any or all of the reliefs sought therein.

He recalled that on June 27, Ekweremadu and his wife, filed an originating motion before by the court, praying for the disclosure of his biodata Information, bank mandate card and account opening package, application form for his international passport and the bank verification information to use in the criminal trial at the Uxbridge Magistrates Court, United Kingdom.

Ukpo said despite the fact that the said reliefs were sought against his fundamental and civil rights to privacy guaranteed by the law, and his interest adversely affected by the aforesaid reliefs, he was neither made a party to the said originating motion nor was he served with any of processes in this suit to enable him respond thereto.

He argued that the government agencies and the banks which were made nominal parties to the suit did not oppose Ekweremadus’ application in any manner because their interests and civil rights were not engaged by the application and reliefs sought therein.

He said he became aware of the said ruling through social media reports on Facebook and he was deeply aggrieved with the said order(s).

According to him, the entire proceedings in the suit were conducted in breach of the fundamental rights of the applicant to a fair hearing and privacy which are guaranteed by the law.

“The proceedings in this suit was not done in compliance with the Order 34 Rules 4 and 7(2)(a) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019 and Section 36 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” he added.

When the matter was mentioned on Tuesday, counsel for the Ekweremadus, G. O. Maduka, said he appeared in court in protest.

Justice Ekwo adjourned the matter until Sept 13 for hearing.

The couple were, on June 23, remanded in the UK police custody, after they were arraigned before the  Uxbridge Magistrate Court for alleged conspiracy to facilitate the travel of David Ukpo, alleged to be a minor, for organ harvesting.

They, however, denied the allegations and the court adjourned till July 7 for hearing.

Ekweremadu also appeared before the Uxbridge Magistrate Court on Thursday where he was denied a bail, though his wife, Beatrice, had been granted bail.

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Enugu Lawyer rejects paternity claim after DNA Test results

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A legal practitioner, Barrister Chinedu Ifeanyi Iloeje, has publicly declared that a man previously believed to be his son is not biologically related to him, following the outcome of a DNA test.

In a public notice published in a newspaper, Iloeje stated that he was allegedly misled by the man’s mother into believing that the individual, identified as Chinedu Francis Iloeje, was his biological son.

According to the notice, DNA testing conducted on the matter established “beyond any doubt” that the man is not his son.

The lawyer further clarified that he never legally adopted the individual, despite the latter bearing the name Chinedu Francis Iloeje.

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Barrister Iloeje explained that the man’s original name is Chinedu Francis Onwualu and stressed that he has no legal or biological relationship with him.

The notice also informed members of the public, the Greater Iloeje Family, the Umuodu Village Union, Uwani Amokwe Town Union, St. Theresa’s Catholic Church Amokwe, Udi Local Government Council, and other stakeholders of his declaration.

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He stated that the disclaimer was made in good faith and while of sound mind, urging the public to take note of the clarification.

The publication has sparked discussions on paternity disputes and the increasing reliance on DNA testing to resolve questions of biological parentage.

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Obi donates N10 million to burnt hospital in Enugu

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Mr Peter Obi presenting a cheque of 10 Million Naira to assist in the renovation of the burnt Mother of Christ Specialist Hospital, Enugu State.
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Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the forthcoming 2027 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, has donated N10 million to assist in the renovation of the burnt Mother of Christ Specialist Hospital, Enugu State.

The former Anambra State governor handed over the cheque for the donation to the hospital management team when he visited the hospital yesterday.

The hospital belongs to the Reverend Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of the Catholic Church.

Mr Peter Obi inspecting the burnt hospital

Addressing the hospital management team after inspecting parts of the burnt hospital, the NDC presidential candidate commended them for their efforts in contributing to healthcare delivery services.

Telling them that even though they might feel that they were not being appreciated for what they were doing, Obi, however, described healthcare delivery services and education as among the “most critical needs of society” and urged them not to relent in what they were doing.

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Accompanied during the visit by his Chief of Staff, Commissioner for Housing, as well as Special Adviser on Media when he was Anambra State governor, Prof. Stella Okunna, Prof. Patrick Obi, and Dr. Valentine Obienyem respectively, Obi assured the hospital management team that he would continue to support them.

Part of the hospital gutted by the inferno and inspected by Obi was the Children’s Ward.

Expressing gratitude on behalf of the hospital management, the Chief Medical Director of Immaculate Heart Hospital, Nkpor, Anambra State, Rev. Sister Dr. Maria Nkiruka Okafor, eulogised Obi for his sacrifices and selfless contributions to humanity.

Disclosing that Obi had already credited the hospital’s accountant with the N10 million donation and that he was even the person who called her to inform her that he had received the sad news of the inferno and promised to donate towards the renovation, Rev. Sister Okafor described him as a rare politician.

She prayed that God would grant him his ambition to become President of the country and enable him to achieve his desire to transform it.

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FG, Enugu State target direct China-Enugu Cargo flights by December – Keyamo

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Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo
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The Federal Government and Enugu State Government are in talks to ensure the commencement of direct cargo flight operations between Enugu and Guangzhou, China, before the end of the year.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Barr Festus Keyamo, disclosed this in Lagos during the launch of the United Air’s newly acquired airplanes on Thursday.

The Minister added said the FG had affected a structural management overhaul at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, also bringing the airport under a privately run operational framework.

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“One of our prides in the South is the Enugu International Airport. The Enugu governor approached Mr. President, noting that the airport was not maximising its economic potential under standard bureaucratic structures, and requested to bring in private investors to run it. Mr. President gave the green light.

“As I speak with you, Enugu is now fully privately owned and fully supported by state government, with the clear objective of also turning it into a dedicated cargo hub for the entire Southeast.”

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To this effect, therefore, Keyamo said that a high-level bilateral trade negotiations were ongoing with a view to securing direct logistics flights between China and the Southeast by the end of 2026.

“Just two days ago, the Enugu governor and I were actively negotiating the first direct cargo flight from Guangzhou, China, straight into Enugu.

“We are targeting December for the maiden flight. This will allow our Southeast merchants and traders in China to consolidate their goods into unified cargo accounts twice a week, flying straight into Enugu for seamless delivery to hubs like Onitsha and Aba,” he concluded.

It is recalled that Governor Mbah had in July 2025 launched Enugu Air, a state-owned airline, as part of the administration’s integrated blueprint for a modern, multimodal transport ecosystem and the vision to make Enugu a major aviation and logistics hub.

Since then, Enugu Air has grown its fleet from three at inception to six planes with plans to further increase it as it prepares to commence operations to regional destinations like Accra, Libreville, Abidjan in next few months and long haul flight operations to various destinations around the world by the end of the year.

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