… begin moves to ‘apply diplomatic pressure’ to ensure couple gets fair treatment in UK
House of Representatives, on Tuesday, resolved to explore diplomatic mechanisms to ensure Ike Ekweremadu, former deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, get justice in court in the United Kingdom.
During Tuesday’s plenary session, Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila assured that he would make the efforts to meet his UK counterpart to ensure fair treatment for the Ekweremadus.
Gbajabiamila remarks came on the heels of the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Abdullahi Abdulkadir from Bauchi State.
Ekweremadu and his wife were recently arrested for allegedly taking an individual to the UK for organ harvesting.
They were subsequently arraigned before an Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court, which remanded in custody till July 7.
The Speaker, however, said the House of Representatives would apply “diplomatic pressure” to ensure that “due process” is followed in the issue.
He said, “I have spoken with the Nigerian high commissioner (to the UK, Sharafa Ishola) who has been extremely proactive in this matter and I expressed the need for him to continue to avail Senator Ekweremadu with all the necessary assistance that he will need to prove his case. I think this should be heightened as well to the UK Parliament.
“I would try and get in touch with the Speaker of the Parliament (UK) whom I was opportune to meet with and had fruitful discussions with just a couple of months ago. I believe Honourable Buba Yusuf (Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs) should also get in touch with his foreign affairs counterpart in the UK Parliament.
“We are not talking about anything but for the Parliament in the UK to make sure that Senator Ekweremadu gets the proper due process, that the rule of law is applied and that he is treated fairly on this matter. I believe the UK Parliament or the Congress of the United States, if their own was involved or if they have one of theirs, even a citizen, in this country that was going through the same travails, I believe that those parliaments would responsibly get involved as well. So, we must apply diplomatic pressure.”
He added that Nigeria and the UK have “strong diplomatic ties”, stressing, “We have to wait to gather all the facts on the matter.”
Earlier, while moving his motion, Abdulkadir said fresh information suggests a different narrative which might not be available to the UK police at the time of the arrest of Ekweremadu and his wife.
The lawmaker said the UK should work with Nigeria to “conduct a holistic and thorough investigation to ascertain all the facts relating to the allegation in order to make a fair determination on the issues in the best interest of equity and justice for all concerned”.
House Deputy Minority Leader, Toby Okechukwu, in his contribution, said the UK may have acted on inaccurate information.
The motion was unanimously adopted when it was put to a voice vote by Gbajabiamila.
The House then mandated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the High Commission of Nigeria to the UK to wade into the matter.
It also asked the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and banks to “swiftly respond to legitimate requests for information to facilitate the prompt resolution of the charges”.
The lawmakers also invited the minister of foreign affairs, acting comptroller of the NIS, director-general and chief executive officer of NIMC to “brief the House of Representatives through the relevant committees on all necessary actions taken regarding this matter.”