Beatrice Ekweremadu, wife of former Nigerian Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, has returned to Nigeria following her release from a UK prison, nearly three years after her involvement in a high-profile organ-harvesting conspiracy.
Mrs. Ekweremadu arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Tuesday, January 21, and was warmly received by family members and close associates.
This marks her first return to Nigeria since the legal proceedings began in mid-2022.
Celebrations were reported in her hometown of Mpu, Aninri Local Government Area, Enugu State, although her husband remains incarcerated in London.
Her release comes after serving half of her four-year and six-month sentence, handed down by London’s Old Bailey in May 2023.
She was convicted for conspiring to facilitate the travel of a 21-year-old Lagos street trader to the UK for the purpose of harvesting his kidney, intended for the couple’s daughter, Sonia, who suffers from a chronic kidney condition.
The case, prosecuted under the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, was the first in which the law was used in an organ-harvesting prosecution.
Mrs. Ekweremadu’s early release was reportedly aided by good conduct in prison and the UK government’s measures to address severe prison overcrowding.
Senator Ike Ekweremadu, considered the principal orchestrator of the scheme, continues to serve a nine-year, eight-month sentence in a UK correctional facility.
Efforts by the Nigerian government to secure his transfer or repatriation have so far been unsuccessful.
A Prisoner Transfer Agreement proposed in late 2025 was rejected by the UK Home Office over concerns about the enforceability of the sentence in Nigeria.
The third convict, Dr. Obinna Obeta, described as the medical intermediary in the case, remains incarcerated in the UK with a 10-year sentence.
Meanwhile, the couple’s daughter, Sonia, was cleared of all charges during the trial and continues to receive medical care in the United Kingdom.
