An Enugu born United States-based lawyer, Emeka Ugwuonye has called on the Senator representing Enugu West Senatorial District, Ike Ekweremadu to resign his seat in the Senate, saying that he will not be released by the UK authorities before the expiration of his tenure in May 2023.
In an article written by the lawyer and seen by The Easterner, Ugwuonye argued that based on the nature of the charges and the law of the United Kingdom (UK), the fact that it was eventually established that the supposed organ donor, David Nwamini was not a minor as initially alleged was irrelevant.
He further stated that Ekweremadu is set to face a jeopardy with profound gravity and would not be granted bail yet. This is because of the possibility of him interfering with evidence.
Ugwuonye also said that the when the Government of Ebonyi State invited the family of David Nwamini, the British prosecutors viewed that in a light disfavorable to Ekweremadu.
The lawyer went on to predict that the Nigerian Senator, Ekweremadu is likely to be convicted.
According to Ugwuonye, what people thought was favorable to Ekweremadu such as his letter to the British High Commion requesting for visa for the boy was actually evidence against him (Ekweremadu). That action has confirmed that he “procured the travel” of the boy, and that he was powerful enough to control things.
The lawyer stated that it is not expected that Ekweremadu will be granted bail before October.
He added that nothing will justify any change in the bail decision because between the time of filing this report and May 2023 when trial is expected to begin, nothing will change.
He said, ”The fact that no bail is pending now is an indication that his lawyers do not believe that bail could be granted yet.”
Furthermore, Ugwuonye said that Ekweremadu’s political career has been upended by the charges and he will likely not return to Nigeria as serving Senator. He would be in the UK facing these charges by the time his current tenure runs out in May 2023.
He therefore advised Ekweremadu to promptly resign from the Senate and create room for an immediate replacement. He added that leaving the people of Enugu West without any representation in the Senate for 12 months will not commend him well to history.
Ugwuonye noted that mistakes are being made by some commentators on Ekweremadu’s case. He said they are talking about diplomatic immunity for Ekweremadu because he was travelling with “diplomatic passport”. ”Their ignorance has no limits. Any government official or even World Bank staff (like myself once) could have such diplomatic passport. It does not confer on the bearer diplomatic immunities, especially immunity against prosecution. It merely facilitates your clearance by immigration and airlines when you travel. If Nigerian Senators believe that by carrying such passports they have been clothed with diplomatic immunities exclusively reserved for diplomats, members of foreign mission, then their ignorance could not be greater.”
In his words:
”Ekweremadu is a Senator. He enjoys no immunity from prosecution. Whether he could have enjoyed some protection on the principles of commity is another issue. But given the nature of the offenses he is charged with, it would be most unlikely that British government would like to accord him any such protection. After all, in the previous cases of recent time when two high profile Nigerian politicians (Governor Ibori of Delta State and the Governor of Bayelsa State) were prosecuted in London, Nigerian Government begged British Government not to try to send them back to Nigeria. Nigerian Government on those two occasions practically said to the UK Government: “Please, our county’s judiciary is corrupt. Don’t send these men to us for trial. Otherwise, they will escape justice”. Thus, Britain must have taken notice that powerful Nigerians should be tried outside Nigeria, whenever they are caught outside Nigeria.”
”The only basis for the British to let Ekweremadu off the hook would have been on the ground that the offences in question began in one country (Nigeria) and ended in another country (United Kingdom). That means that Ekweremadu could be prosecuted in either country. There is a procedure under which the British Attorney General could have recommended that he be tried in the other country if the balance of convenience favoured the accused being tried in the other country. But this is not the case for such consideration. First, the evidence of the case is mostly located in the UK. That is; the victim is alive and in the UK, the doctors who found out that the boy did not give consent are in the UK, the doctor who connived with Ekweremadu is in the UK and is now his co-accused. Besides, Nigerian Government never indicated any intention to try Ekweremadu in Nigeria and did not request Britain to extradite Ekweremadu. It was clear from the beginning that this option was not available to Ekweremadu.
”The story of Ekweremadu is about the sudden rise and sudden collapse of an ordinary man. It is a pity that by this time next two years, Ekweremadu may have been deleted from the minds of most people even in his own State. And that is because Ekweremadu never used his power for the benefit of the people. He used it to amass wealth and influence. Otherwise, who misses him now? Nobody outside his family and friends. I’m writing this piece from Enugu, where I have been for the past two days. I was expecting the common folks to be talking about Ekweremadu. But unfortunately, nobody mentions him. The mechanics, the Uber drivers, those who sell roasted corn by street junctions, etc. when I dropped Ekweremadu’s name trying to make a conversation, it was as if I mentioned a foreign name. The attitude of the people is as if Ekweremadu’s palaver is not their concern at all. What a tragedy!”
