The former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who is currently facing trial in the United Kingdom, on Tuesday, asked the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to dismiss a suit seeking to halt the transmission of the bio-data of his alleged organ harvest victim, David Ukpo, to the court in London.
Ukpo had alleged that Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, sponsored his trip to UK for the purpose of harvesting his organ.
In a motion he filed through his lawyers, Ukpo, further alleged that Ekweremadu and his wife, violated his fundamental human rights when they secured an order from the court in Nigeria for his personal information to be forwarded to the Uxbridge Magistrate Court in the UK, without his consent.
Ukpo decried that the court presided by Justice Inyang Ekwo, on July 1, without hearing from him, ordered the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, and the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Immigration Service, to provide the Certified True Copy, CTC, of his bio-data and bank opening details to Ekweremadu.
He noted that Justice Ekwo, in a subsequent ruling on July 6, directed that the bio-data should be forwarded to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, for same to be transmitted to the court in the UK.
While querying the jurisdiction of the court to issue such orders, Ukpo, argued that Ekweremadu and his wife ought to have joined him and the AGF, Malami, SAN, as necessary parties in the matter.
He argued that reliefs the court granted, were against his fundamental and civic rights to privacy, guaranteed under section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
However, at the resumed proceedings in the matter on Tuesday, Ekweremadu, through his lawyer, Eyitayo Fatigun, SAN, told the court that he filed a counter affidavit for the dismissal of Ukpo’s suit which he described as baseless.
The embattled lawmaker argued that the alleged organ harvest victim had no basis to entertain any fear in the release of his visa application information and his bank account opening package, unless he lied about his real age.
In the counter affidavit that was deposed to by his immediate younger brother, Bright, Ekweremadu, maintained that what the court ordered to be transmitted to London, was Ukpo’s bank account opening package and the information he supplied in his visa application request.
Besides, he noted that the order of the court had since been complied with as
the required documents have since been transmitted to two different courts in the UK.
He argued that it was already late to reverse a valid order of the court that had since been executed.
Consequently, Ekweremadu urged the court to dismiss the suit for being frivolous, an abuse of court process and for lacking in merit.
Meanwhile, Ukpo’s lawyer, Mr Ojonugwa Oguche, prayed for an adjournment to enable him to respond to the counter-affidavit, a prayer that was granted by Justice Ekwo.
The case was subsequently adjourned till September 20 for hearing.
It will be recalled that the London Metropolitan Police had arrested and charged Ekweremadu and his wife to court for allegedly bringing a child (Ukpo) to the UK for organ harvesting.
Though the UK police alleged that Ukpo was 15 years old, however, personal details on both his International Passport and Bank Verification Number, BVN, subsequently revealed that he is about 21 years old.
Ekweremadu and his wife had maintained that Ukpo’s National Identification Number, NIN, with No:19438077110, which is in the possession of NIMC, should be produced for the purpose of facilitating the criminal investigation as well as tendering same to establish their innocence with respect to the age of the alleged victim, in the criminal charge pending against them.
They equally sought an order, directing the Immigration boss to supply them with documents and application form of David Nwamini Ukpo, which was presented for the issuance of his International passport with No. BO0569974.
More so, they sought an order of court directing the Stanbic-IBTC Bank to supply the applicants with the CTC of mandate card and account opening package of account No. 0032551834 maintained by its customer, Ukpo, with Bank Verification Number 22509616391 in the custody of the bank, for the purpose of tendering same to establish their innocence.
As well as an order of court directing UBA to supply the applicants with the CTC of mandate card and account opening package of account No. 2195739574 maintained by Ukpo with Bank Verification Number 22509616391 in the custody of the bank, for the purpose of tendering same to establish before the court in the UK.
Though Ekweremadu is still in detention, the UK court, on July 26, released his wife on bail.
Their trial was later adjourned till October 31.
