If you are wondering, what will happen to Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife? It’s simple, according to UK laws, the senator, his wife and the good doctor are likely to spend at least nine months in jail with the option of a fine! For violating the provisions of the Human Organ Transplants Act 1989.

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, his wife, and a doctor have also been found guilty of organ trafficking, under the Modern Slavery Act in the United Kingdom. For Violating the Modern Slavery Act in the United Kingdom, their conviction could earn them twelve months’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. On conviction on indictment, the maximum sentence is ten years’ imprisonment. However, where the offence involves false imprisonment or kidnapping, it is life imprisonment. Please head on to Crown Prosecution Service for detailed information.

The prosecutor Hugh Davies KC told the court Senator Ekweremadu and Doctor Obeta treated the man and other potential donors as “disposable assets – spare parts for reward”.
The prosecutor also added that they entered an “emotionally cold commercial transaction” with the young man.

Hugh Davies KC also emphasised that the behaviour of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, a successful lawyer and founder of an anti-poverty charity… showed entitlement, dishonesty and hypocrisy.

The UK has an established set of laws for organ and tissue donation. The Human Tissue Authority ensures that no one is forced, pressured, or paid to donate organs, a crime in the UK.

Trafficking of tissue and organs is illegal in the UK

Trafficking of tissue and organs is illegal in the UK. Legal donation of organs may happen if the donor gives consent. There are two types of organ donation – 

• Donation after death 
• Live donation

For donation following death, people can create records of their wishes about organ donation on a register. This is done so that organs or tissue can or cannot be donated when they die.

Facts – According to NHS Organ Donation, -All adults in England, are now considered to have agreed to be organ donors when they die unless they have recorded a decision not to donate. Approximately 29% of people in the UK have joined the organ donation register.

Live donation

The majority of live donors are close relatives. These are often a parent, brother or sister, son or daughter. Related donors often have an increased chance of being a compatible match. 

Furthermore, live donors may also be unrelated to the recipient. These could be spouses or close friends of the recipient. 

Under UK laws, before a person can become a live donor, they must undergo extensive health checks to ensure their kidney is healthy. They must also go through cancelling that informs them of all the risks involved, including death and lifestyle changes. 

All donations from living donors must have approval from the authority, and an independent evaluator evaluates the donors as a standard part of the assessment to guarantee they comply with the legal stipulations.

Will Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife go to prison in the UK?

Sentences Senator Ekweremadu could be facing include the following:

• If they charge the Ekweremadu with violating the organs, prohibition of commercial dealings in human organs. They could be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both; and a person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) above is liable for summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on that scale.
• A person guilty of an offence under the “Restriction on transplants between persons not genetically related” section is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both.
• Senator Ekweremadu may face up to one-year imprisonment with a fine.
• head to the Human Organ Transplants Act 1989 for detailed information on what a guilty verdict means and what will happen to Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife.