Kidney Donor, David Ukpo Asks Court Not To Release His Biodata To Ekweremadu

David Ukpo Nwamini, the victim of the alleged organ harvesting involving Senator Ike Ekweremadu has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja not to release his biodata to the embattled lawmaker for use in a London Court.

David Ukpo Seek Non-Release Of Biodata To Ekweremadu

KanyiDaily recalls that Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice Nwanneka, had recently approached the Abuja court over the controversy surrounding David’s real age, who accused them of sponsoring his trip to the United Kingdom for the purpose of harvesting his organ.

Ekweremadus asked the court to compel the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and others to supply them with the certified true copy (CTC) of Ukpo’s biodata.

Named with NIMC as respondents in the suit are the Comptroller General (C-G), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS); Stanbic-IBTC Bank; United Bank of Africa (UBA) and Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc.

Reacting in an application filed through his team of lawyers led by Bamidele Igbinedion, Ukpo accused Ekweremadu and his wife of violating his fundamental human rights

Ukpo said that the lawmaker ought to have joined him and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as parties in the suit, noting that the court erred when it granted Ekweremadu’s application without taking arguments from him.

The applicant further averred that the reliefs granted by the court violated his basic and constitutional right to privacy, which is protected by Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

Ukpo prayed Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo to reverse the order permitting the release of his biodata to Ekweremadu and his wife for their defense before Uxbridge Magistrate Court in London.

“The attorney-general of the federation was also not made a party to the suit to enable the interest of the Federal Government to be represented, seeing that the effect of the order was to be utilized in a foreign country, namely the United Kingdom,” the affidavits attached to the application read.

“The applicant became aware of the said ruling through social media reports on Facebook and the applicant was deeply aggrieved with the said order(s).”

According to Ukpo, the suit was conducted in breach of his fundamental rights to fair hearing and privacy.

He asserted that the AGF’s approval was not obtained for the transfer of his information to the Uxbridge Magistrate Court in the UK, accusing Ekweremadu and his wife of misleading the court.

“It is in the interest of justice to set aside the entire proceedings,” he said.

“Unless the matter is heard urgently, irreparable damage and serious mischief would have been done to the applicant as the 1st and 2nd applicants/respondents would have taken undue advantage to take the Applicant’s bio-data and other personal information to their own use in Uxbridge Magistrate Court in the UK.”

The judge has fixed September 13 to hear Ukpo’s application which has Stanbic IBTC Bank, United Bank for Africa Plc and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, as third, fourth and fifth respondents respectively.

KanyiDaily recalls that on June 23, Ekweremadu and his wife were arrested by the police in London for allegedly trafficking a homeless boy from Lagos into the UK to harvest his organs for their ailing daughter.

The duo, who were arrested for alleged conspiracy to harvest the kidney of 15-year-old David, are both charged with conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting.

On Thursday, the court heard how Ekweremadu and Beatrice trafficked the 15-year-old boy from Lagos into the UK with the passport of a 41-year-old man, to transplant his organs to their daughter who suffers from kidney failure.

The couple were arrested at Heathrow while trying to board a flight to Turkey – where it was suggested that the procedure could take place – the court heard.

Although the police had said the donor’s age was 15, data from his international passport and Bank Verification Number (BVN) indicate that David is 21-year-old, having been born on October 12, 2000.