Olisa Metuh, a former spokesman of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), says David Ukpo, the Nigerian at the centre of the alleged organ
harvesting case involving Ike Ekweremadu, has “recanted”.
Ekweremadu, a former deputy president of the senate, and
Beatrice, his wife, are facing charges bordering on conspiracy to
arrange/facilitate the travel of another person with a view to exploitation,
namely organ harvesting.
Last month, the couple was arrested by the London
Metropolitan Police for bringing a child to the UK for alleged organ
harvesting.
However, according to the Ekweremadus, Ukpo was in the UK as
a kidney donor for Sonia, the lawmaker’s daughter.
The alleged kidney donor had also claimed to be a “minor”.
The UK authorities had, thereafter, charged the senator and
his wife to court.
In a ruling on Thursday, a Westminster magistrates court in
the UK held that Ukpo is not a minor, after which the judge adjourned the case
till August 4.
Speaking on the case in an interview with ARISE TV, Metuh
said Ukpo “recanted”, and told the police that he was not under 21.
“The most important thing that we witnessed today is that
the so-called minor recanted, and of his own free will, went to the police
again and confessed that he’s not under 21; that means he’s not a minor,” Metuh
said.
“And because of that, the judge struck out section 45, so
everything about the case can be open, since a minor is no more involved.”
Section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act
1999 in the UK makes provisions for restrictions when reporting about “victims,
witnesses and defendants under the age of 18 who appear in magistrates’ courts
and the Crown Court”.
Meanwhile, Metuh also expressed excitement over the
judgment, adding that the defence counsel informed the court that “there was no
exploitation that was involved” in the case.
“We knew that the guy is more than 21 years and he’s going
to be 22. We’ve always known that, but for him to have said that, it’s a good
thing. So, we are happy about it,” the former PDP spokesman said.
“More importantly is the fact that the defence counsel had
gotten up and said there was no exploitation that was involved. There was
nothing at all. It is important that he stated that in court and Ike and his
wife pleaded not guilty to all the charges.”
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