Sonia Ekweremadu walks behind her mother, Beatrice, in court in November 2022
Eko Hot Blog reports that Sonia, the daughter of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on Monday, appeared in a court in the United Kingdom (UK).
Recall that Sonia and her parents had been accused of trafficking a homeless man into the UK to harvest his organs for herself.
Specifically, the younger Ekweremadu was accused alongside her father Ike Ekweremadu, 60, her mother Beatrice Ekweremadu, 56, and 50-year-old doctor Obinna Obeta of conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting, the Daily Mail reported.
According to the UK Tabloid, Sonia and her mother, who was granted bail at a hearing in July, could not enter a plea as expected on Monday, but a trial date has been set for January 31, 2023.
The pleas could not take place due to further legal argument.
Sonia Ekweremadu walks behind her mother, Beatrice, in court
The trial was brought forward from May to January next year at the Old Bailey.
Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow told Daily Mail that, “We are told that this court is in a position to accommodate the trial…three months earlier.
“If an earlier date can be offered, and one can be, then it should be taken.”
The trial will last four weeks and a High Court judge will preside over the hearing.
The Ekweremadus and Obeta will next appear at the Old Bailey on December 16 this year.
Prosecutors claim that Sonia and the accused persons, including her parents, facilitated a man’s travel from Lagos to London to remove one of his kidneys for her benefit.
The court has been told that Sonia has a kidney-related disease and has been on dialysis for some time.
Ekweremadu, a former deputy president of the Nigerian Senate, and his wife Beatrice, were arrested in the UK on June 21 after flying in to Heathrow from Turkey.
The Nigerian lawmaker and Obeta are currently on remand in the HMP Wandsworth and the HMP Belmarsh respectively. They did not appear in court on Monday.
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