The chairperson of the Nigerian in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has joined calls for clemency for former Nigeria’s senate president, Ike Ekweremadu.
Ekweremadu was convicted of attempting to harvest the organ of a 21-year-old for the treatment of Sonia, his daughter.
The sentencing is scheduled for Friday at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey.
Dabiri-Erewa, in a statement signed by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, head of media, NiDCOM, pleaded with the UK government to temper justice with mercy, saying “mistakes have been made, and lessons learnt”.
“I join men and women of goodwill to plead for clemency for Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, if only even considering the psychological trauma that Sonia, the daughter, would be going through knowing that her parents are in jail because they tried to save her from a health condition she had no control over,” Dabiri-Erewa said.
The NIDCOM boss said although there is no ignorance before the law, Ekweremadu and his wife acted under natural instincts of parents to save an ailing daughter, and not for commercial purposes.
The senate and house of representatives have also appealed to the UK government and parliament on Ekweremadu’s behalf.
