A high-level delegation sent by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu met with officials at the UK Ministry of Justice today to discuss the case of former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who has been detained in Britain since March 2023, Very Nigerian reports.
The delegation, which included Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, marks a renewed diplomatic effort by the Tinubu administration regarding the high-profile detention. After the talks, the team was received at the Nigerian High Commission in London by Ambassador Mohammed Maidugu, the Acting High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
This latest move underscores the Nigerian government’s growing engagement with the UK over legal matters involving prominent citizens.
Senator Ekweremadu, his wife, Beatrice, and a doctor were convicted in March 2023 for conspiring to arrange the travel of a young man to the UK to exploit him for his kidney an offense under the Modern Slavery Act. The former Deputy Senate President was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, a historic ruling that sent a strong message worldwide that even powerful figures are not above the law.
