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Ekweremadu’s daughter, Sonia appears in UK court for human trafficking

Published

1 year ago

November 7, 2022

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Sonia, the daughter of federal lawmaker, Ike Ekweremadu, on Monday appeared in court over the accusation of trafficking a homeless man into the United Kingdom to harvest his organs for herself.

According to the Daily Mail, 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.

It was reported that Ms Ekweremadu has not entered a plea but a trial date has been set for January 31, 2023.

It was claimed that Sonia and the accused facilitated the man’s travel from Lagos to London to remove one of his kidneys.

Prosecutors claim the plot was to harvest the man’s organ for Sonia’s benefit.

Sonia has a kidney-related disease and has been on dialysis for some time, the court has been told.

They were arrested after the young man, who previously lived on the streets of Lagos, turned up at Staines police station, claiming he was the victim of trafficking.

READ Troops stops international smuggling syndicate, intercept ammunition bound for Anambra

The man told officers he had arrived in the UK on February 20 this year and had been taken to Royal Free Hospital for tests, none of which he consented to.

The Daily Mail added that after these tests, the man said he had returned to the house he had been staying in, where he was ‘treated effectively as a slave’.

He said he escaped the address and was homeless for three days before going to the police.

Ike, a barrister and 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.

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UPDATED: Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as chairman of education loan fund

Published

7 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jim Ovia as the chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, announced the appointment of Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank, in a statement on Friday.

Ngelale said Tinubu believes that Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience to ensure that no Nigerian student suffers a paucity of funds in the quest for tertiary education.

On April 3, Tinubu signed the student loans amendment bill into law to provide Nigerians with quality and accessible education.

The law will allow Nigerian students in tertiary institutions to access low-interest loans for tuition and other academic needs.

Subsequently, the president appointed Akintunde Sawyerr as the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the fund.

Tinubu also appointed Frederick Oluwafemi Akinfala as the executive director of finance and administration, while Mustapha Iyal will serve as the executive director of operations of NELFUND.

READ Bio-data: Ekweremadus ask court to Dismiss Ukpo’s plea

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JUST IN: Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as chairman of education loan fund

Published

9 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jim Ovia as the chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, announced the appointment of Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank, in a statement on Friday.

More to follow…

READ Killer of Igbinedion’s mum to die by hanging

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ICPC detains TETFund boss ‘over questionable N7.6bn project’

Published

13 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has detained Sonny Echono, executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

Demola Bakare, ICPC spokesperson, confirmed the development on Friday.

Bakare said that Echono was invited by the anti-graft agency on Thursday.

“The executive secretary of TETFund is here with us. He has been invited for questioning. He is still in custody. He was invited yesterday.” Bakare said.

“He was invited on Thursday. He has not been released. He’s still with us. Investigation is still ongoing.”

It was earlier reported that TETfund awarded two contracts to Fides Et Ratio Academy and Pole Global Marketing (PGM) within two months at the cost of N3.8 billion respectively without the approval of the federal executive council (FEC), which is required for the contract size.

The contract was to provide capacity building course and learning management systems to about 2 million students across higher institutions in the country.

READ Organ transplant: Ekweremadu’s daughter deserves free kidney donation– Okowa’s aide

In a rejoinder, TETFund said it did not award N7.6 billion contracts to two companies without due process.

The agency said it was wrong to say they were contracts, whereas they were ICT projects implemented under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which doesn’t require competitive bidding in public procurement.

TETFund further said its disbursement guidelines were approved by the president on the recommendation of the “Fund’s Board of Trustees and concurrence of the Honourable Minister of Education in line with the TETFund Act 2011″.

In an interview with TheCable, Echono said there was no form of irregularity in the N7.6 billion project.