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Organ Trafficking: Ekweremadu bags 10 years in UK prison

The 21-year-old Lagos street trader was falsely presented as Ekweremadu’s daughter’s cousin in an attempt to persuade doctors to carry out an £80,000 private kidney transplant

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Former Deputy Senate President of Nigeria, Ike Ekweremadu, has been sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison by a United Kingdom court for his role in an organ trafficking plot. His wife, Beatrice, was also sentenced to four years and six months, while Dr Obinna Obeta, the medical doctor who acted as a “middleman,” received a 10-year sentence and had his medical license suspended.

According to reports, a 21-year-old Lagos street trader was falsely presented as Ekweremadu’s daughter’s cousin in an attempt to persuade doctors to carry out an £80,000 private kidney transplant at the Royal Free Hospital in London. The young man was offered an illegal reward to become a donor for Ekweremadu’s daughter after kidney disease forced her to drop out of a master’s degree program at Newcastle University.

The prosecutor, Hugh Davies KC, described Ekweremadu’s behavior as showing “entitlement, dishonesty, and hypocrisy,” and accused him and Obeta of treating the man and other potential donors as “disposable assets – spare parts for reward.” Their conviction was the first verdict of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act.

Davies argued that Ekweremadu’s actions were not simply expedient in his daughter’s clinical interests but were exploitative and criminal. “Her clinical needs cannot come at the expense of the exploitation of somebody in poverty,” he said.

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UPDATE: Two Persons Recovered Dead At The Collapsed Two-Storey Building

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The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service hereby provide an update on the ongoing rescue operation at the site of the collapsed two-storey building located at Alakija, Old Ojo Road, along the Badagry Expressway.

Rescue efforts are still ongoing, and six additional victims have been successfully rescued from the debris bringing the number to 16.

Regrettably, two persons have been recovered dead.

Emergency responders remain on the scene, working tirelessly to ensure that all affected persons are accounted for and to safeguard the area.

Further updates will be communicated as rescue operations progress.

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Ondo Government Withholds WASSCE Results, Expels Students Over Sign-Out Misconducts

The students involved were identified as being from Oyemekun Grammar School, Aquinas Secondary School, and CAC Grammar School, all located in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

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The Ondo State Government has withheld the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results and testimonials of some graduating secondary school students following acts of misconduct during their sign-out celebrations.

The State Ministry of Education disclosed that the disciplinary action was taken after 17 final-year students were found to have engaged in chaotic and unruly behaviour after completing their final examination.

According to the ministry, the affected students were captured in a viral video tearing their school uniforms, chanting unusual slogans, and engaging in acts considered inconsistent with acceptable standards of discipline.

The students involved were identified as being from Oyemekun Grammar School, Aquinas Secondary School, and CAC Grammar School, all located in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The government said the sanctions were imposed to uphold discipline and discourage acts of indiscipline among students in the state’s public secondary schools.

Credit: Facebook

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Zulum Orders Immediate Closure of Bama IDP Camp, See why..

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Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum has directed the immediate closure of the Bama Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, described as the largest such facility in the state outside Maiduguri.

The governor announced the directive on Thursday during an assessment visit to the Government Secondary School IDP camp in Gwoza, shortly after supervising the profiling and screening of displaced persons in Bama.

“We visited Bama yesterday and supervised the screening of IDPs, and by 12 noon, Bama IDP camp should be closed,” Zulum stated.

He emphasized that the closure follows the successful completion of the profiling and screening exercise, as part of the state government’s broader efforts to resettle IDPs and restore normalcy in liberated communities.

The move is the latest in a series of camp closures across Borno State, with authorities having already resettled thousands of IDPs in recent weeks. Governor Zulum assured that affected persons would receive adequate support, including relief materials, for dignified resettlement.

This development signals significant progress in the state’s recovery and resettlement programme amid improved security in parts of Borno.

The story is still developing as authorities implement the closure order.

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