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Organ transplant: Donor asks court to deny Ekweremadu access to bio-data
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.
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.
The 30-year-old aluminium fixer and student of a polytechnic in Kwara State had spent days in police detention and prison custody following a dispute that began with an alleged N8,000 debt.
His parents had stood as sureties to perfect his bail.
He was finally home and free.
But his mother, Simiat Mohammed, said the son who returned to the family was not the same man who had left days earlier.
He barely ate. He withdrew from people. Again and again, she said, Al-Amin complained about the humiliation of being detained, taken to court and remanded in prison over an allegation he insisted was untrue.
“He kept saying that they wanted to tarnish his image because he came from a poor family and that he was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit,” the grieving mother told Saturday PUNCH amid tears.
Three days after his release, tragedy struck.
On September 17, Al-Amin ingested rat poison at his residence in Ibadan.
Before then, according to his family, he recorded a voice note expressing frustration and saying what would become his final words to his mother.
“He said the frustration was too much and asked his siblings to take care of me. He mentioned my name and apologised, telling me not to be angry with him,” Simiat recalled.
The family rushed him from one hospital to another in a desperate attempt to save his life.
His father, Habeeb Mohammed, said three hospitals rejected him before the family eventually got to the University College Hospital, Ibadan.
“We were asked to make some payments before he could be attended to. After we paid, the doctor came and told us that he was dead,” he said.
For the Mohammed family, the death brought a devastating end to a chain of events that they say should never have gone beyond a minor disagreement.
How N8,000 debt became police case
According to Simiat, her son had borrowed N23,000 from a Point-of-Sale operator identified simply as Kazeem.
Al-Amin had repaid N15,000, leaving a balance of N8,000.
But a disagreement subsequently broke out, during which Kazeem allegedly seized Al-Amin’s mobile phone over the unpaid balance.
The 30-year-old later returned to retrieve his phone, leading to a struggle.
His mother said the confrontation was minor, but it set off events that eventually took her son through vigilante detention, a police cell, a courtroom and prison custody.
After the altercation, Al-Amin was allegedly detained overnight by a vigilante said to be the father of one of Kazeem’s employees.
The following day, September 9, he was allegedly handed over to officers at the Sanyo Divisional Police Station in Ibadan.
Simiat said she received a call the next day asking her to come to the station.
Like many mothers visiting a detained child, she went there carrying food.
“When I got to the station, I went with food for my son, but they did not allow me to give it to him. After some time, they brought him out of the cell and I spoke with him,” she said.
During that brief encounter, Al-Amin maintained his innocence over another allegation that had entered the dispute that he damaged a mobile phone belonging to Kazeem.
“He told me that he did not touch the phone, let alone spoil it. He said the only money he owed Kazeem was N8,000 and that he went to retrieve his phone after it had been seized, which led to the struggle,” she added.
‘They said they would jail him’
What Simiat expected would be resolved as a dispute between two young men allegedly took a more serious turn.
She claimed that the Investigating Police Officer, identified as Adekeye, insisted that Al-Amin would be prosecuted despite the family’s appeals for a settlement.
According to her, the family was asked to provide N100,000 for bail and another N70,000 for the damaged phone.
“When Kazeem came to the station, I pleaded with him that we should settle the matter. I also pleaded with the DCO, but he later sent me out of his office.
“The IPO, Adekeye, also said she would ensure that my son was jailed. There was even a police officer pleading on our behalf,” she alleged.
The deceased’s father, Habeeb, gave a similar account.
He alleged that the matter was escalated because the complainant’s father was known to the Divisional Crime Officer.
“When I got there, I begged the DCO that the matter could be settled amicably. But because the father of the complainant was his friend, he said he would deal with my son and send him to prison,” he stated.
The family further alleged that Al-Amin complained of harsh treatment while in detention and said he was pressured to admit that he damaged the phone.
Saturday PUNCH could not independently verify those allegations.
From police cell to prison
On September 10, the family said Al-Amin was taken to court in the Mapo area of Ibadan.
His mother claimed nobody informed the family beforehand.
They only learnt that he had been taken to court after receiving a telephone call.
At the court, the family encountered a lawyer identified as Boluwatife, who, according to Simiat, offered to represent Al-Amin free of charge after hearing about the case.
The court granted him bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.
But freedom did not come immediately.
Pending the perfection of his bail conditions, Al-Amin was taken to the Agodi Custodial Centre.
For four days, his parents worked to secure his release.
Eventually, Simiat and Habeeb stood as sureties, and their son walked out of custody on September 14.
Police deny charging Oyo student over ₦8,000
Meanwhile, Oyo State Police Command has disputed the account surrounding the arrest and prosecution of a student, Al-Amin Mohammed, who later died by suicide, saying he was not arrested or charged to court over an outstanding ₦8,000 debt.
The Command said Mohammed was charged with assault and malicious damage after allegedly assaulting a female Point-of-Sale operator and damaging her Airtel SIM registration machine valued at ₦177,000.
The police position differs from the account given by Mohammed’s family, which said he was arrested and taken to court following a dispute over an ₦8,000 debt owed to the POS operator.
In a statement on Saturday, the Command described a publication alleging that Mohammed was detained over the debt as “false, unfounded and misleading.”
“The Command wishes to categorically state that the narrative is false, unfounded and misleading, as it does not represent the circumstances of the case or the basis upon which the suspect was charged to court,” the statement said.
According to the police, investigation established that Mohammed approached the POS operator to collect ₦23,000 in cash, with the intention of transferring the same amount to her through a POS transaction.
“The complainant obliged and handed the suspect the said sum in cash. However, immediately after collecting the money, the suspect left the scene without effecting the intended transfer or returning the money.
“Following persistent efforts, the suspect eventually refunded ₦15,000, leaving an outstanding balance of ₦8,000, which he subsequently refused to pay. Consequently, the complainant took possession of the suspect’s mobile phone pending the refund of the outstanding ₦8,000,” the Command said. (PUNCH)
Officers of the Kogi police command have arrested Elijah Olorunsuwa, a lecturer with the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), over allegations of cybercrime in connection with WhatsApp messages on a road project in the state.
Olorunsuwa, a social commentator, was arrested on Wednesday at his residence in Ilorin, Kwara state capital, and taken to Kogi state.
He was later released on Wednesday evening and asked to return on Thursday.
Speaking with TheCable after his release, Olorunsuwa said around 5am on Wednesday, about eight police officers arrived at his residence in Ilorin to arrest him.
Olorunsuwa said he requested that the police officers should allow him to drive his own car and follow them to the nearest area command in Ilorin.
The lecturer said when they arrived at the area command in Ilorin, there were no police officers to attend to them. Afterwards, he decided to join the police officers in their van as they agreed to take him to the Kwara police command headquarters.
According to Olorunsuwa, the police officers reneged on the agreement and drove him to Kogi.
When the lecturer got to the police station in Kogi, he was shown a petition reportedly written against him by Jerry Omodara, security adviser to the Kogi state government.
THE PETITION
In the petition dated September 11 and addressed to the Kogi police commissioner, Omodara alleged that Olorunsuwa has “consistently made false allegation and publications” against the Kogi government using social media.
The security adviser said the lecturer’s recent social media post against the Kogi government was on the award of the Kabba-Oke-Offin-Olle-lluke road project.
Omodara said the Kogi government published advertisements in newspapers for the award of the reconstruction of the road.
The security adviser said after the newspaper publications, Olorunsuwa posted on social media that the road “project was not of the state government but World Bank sponsored and the state was to pay a counterpart fund”.
Omodara said Olorunsuwa’s post is “false, malicious and with the intention to deceive unsuspecting public and discredit the government of the day”.
“This does not go down well with the government as well as myself being from that area that have consistently reminded the government on the need to reconstruct the road,” the petition reads.
“It is therefore not acceptable to the government of the State and the people the road is supposed to serve.
“Consequently, Mr. Elijah Olounsuwa is to be apprehended and to be made to tender all documents available to him from or by the World Bank to back his claim, otherwise he is to be charged for cybercrime and prosecuted.”
THE WHATSAPP CONVERSATION
Olorunsuwa told TheCable that someone posted a message on the Oke Offin community WhatsApp group that the state government was reconstructing the Kabba-Oke-Offin-Olle-lluke road.
The lecturer said he commented that the road project is sponsored by the World Bank.
Olorunsuwa said that after his comment, Omodara replied to him and asked that the post should be deleted. He added that the state security adviser threatened that he should expect legal action if the WhatsApp post is not deleted.
The lecturer said he and Omodara hail from Oke Offin in Kabba/Bunu LGA of Kogi state.
“I told him that he should feel free to take me to court. I didn’t pull down the post,” the lecturer said.
“However, some elderly men on the platform reached out to me and appealed for the need to maintain peace and decorum.”
Olorunsuwa said that after the appeal from the elderly men, he deleted his WhatsApp comments and reached out to Omodara via the phone.
The lecturer said during the phone conversation with Omodara, the security adviser told him that Usman Ododo, governor of Kogi, had directed that he should be prosecuted over the post.
Olorunsuwa said he asked the security adviser if the Kogi governor was a member of the community WhatsApp group chat.
He said Omodara asked him to publish a retraction of his WhatsApp posts about the road project, adding that he refused to do so, which led to his arrest.
OMODARA REACTS
Reacting to the development, Omodara said Olorunsuwa published a “false claim” about the funding of the road project via WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
The security adviser told TheCable that he asked the lecturer to retract his post on the WhatsApp group since the road project is being funded by the Kogi state government.
Omodara said Olorunsuwa responded that he should be mourning his late cousin rather than clamouring for the withdrawal of the post.
He added that during a telephone conversation, he informed the lecturer that the road project was solely funded by the state government and not the World Bank, as he claimed.
The security adviser said Olorunsuwa refused to retract the social media post, which prompted the state government to petition the Kogi police commissioner. Cable
Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, has exercised his constitutional powers under the Prerogative of Mercy to grant remission to Mr. Chidozie Nwangwu, popularly known as Akwa Okuko tiwara aki, effectively bringing his jail term to an end.
Nwangwu, who was reputed for the practice of okite, a form of money ritual, was convicted in February 2026 on several counts of violating the Anambra State Homeland Security Law.
He was sentenced to two years imprisonment following a plea bargain between the Anambra State Government and Nwangwu. His sentence was originally expected to end next month, but the remission granted by Governor Soludo has resulted in his discharge.
Governor Soludo announced the remission on Friday during a visit to correctional centres in Anambra State, including the Onitsha and Amawbia Correctional Centres.
The Onitsha Correctional Centre currently houses about 739 inmates, making it the largest correctional facility in the state, while the Amawbia facility accommodates about 602 inmates despite having been built for only 280 inmates.
Welcoming the governor at Amawbia, the State Controller of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Ezinne Onuoha, expressed appreciation to him for the visit.
Soludo said his visit was part of his routine engagement with inmates and correctional facilities across the state.
“This is part of my routine visit. After I was sworn in, I visited the Correctional Centres. I have come to see you just to be sure you are okay,” the governor told the inmates.
The governor subsequently toured the facilities before holding a town hall meeting with some of the inmates, many of whom have spent years awaiting trial.
Cases involving murder, child trafficking, robbery, theft and land-related disputes were among those highlighted during the interaction.
Soludo noted that Anambra has an unusually high number of court cases, saying, “Anambra has the second highest number of cases in Nigeria.”
He urged the inmates to use their time in the correctional centres to acquire skills and reflect on their lives, stressing that the ultimate purpose of incarceration should include rehabilitation and positive transformation.
“The purpose of being here is so you become better human beings. If you finish staying here and do not become a new person, you have missed the idea,” he said.
The governor assured the inmates that his administration would not abandon them, emphasizing that they remain citizens with a role to play in building a better society.
“We will never forget anyone. We are all citizens, and we all have a responsibility to make this place a livable city. The objective is to make Anambra and Nigeria better. Society will get better if people become responsible citizens,” Soludo said.
He also encouraged inmates to take advantage of the state government’s plea-bargain initiative to facilitate the speedy resolution of their cases.
The governor disclosed that a committee headed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Tobechukwu Nweke, SAN, had been constituted to review some cases and recommend inmates who may qualify for pardon or remission next month.
Governor Soludo was accompanied on the visits by members of his administration and other officials.
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