A 21-year-old trader allegedly trafficked from Nigeria to donate a kidney to Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s daughter, Sonia, has admitted that he lied to police in the United Kingdom to make himself look vulnerable.
The alleged victim admitted this when he was being cross-examined by Sally Howells on behalf of ‘middleman’ Dr. Obinna Obeta.
Recall that Ekweremadu along with his wife Beatrice, daughter, Sonia, and ‘middleman’ Obeta, all deny conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view to exploitation.
Giving evidence at the Old Bailey via video link, the alleged victim, who has been in the UK since 2022, admitted he had tried to make himself seem vulnerable to police, Daily Mail reports.
He denies knowing he was being offered money to give Sonia his kidney, and claims he didn’t know about the kidney transplant until he met with a doctor in the UK.
It was claimed the man had been coached before the meeting to say he was Sonia’s cousin when they were not related.
The court had previously been told that the transplant was rejected after doctors decided he was not a suitable candidate.
Sally Howells, reminded the court of what the donor had told police at Staines police station.
He told police he was born in 2006, making him 15 years old.
He does not know his true date of birth but estimates he was born in 2000, making him 20 at the time.
He also told police he was living ‘on the streets’ in Lagos and ‘begging’ for money, when he had really been living in one room with two friends and selling phone parts at a market.
He also claimed his parents had died when he was very young, which he admitted in court that it was a lie.
His father was a carpenter and lived with his mother, four younger brothers and four younger sisters in his village. He moved to Lagos at 15 years old.
Ms Howells said: ‘It wouldn’t be right to say you were begging for money in Lagos because you were a market hustler selling phone accessories, weren’t you? And you were good at it you told us.
‘You were not begging for money, were you?
‘No, I was not begging for money,’ the donor replied.
‘Why did you tell the officer you were?’ Ms Howells asked.
‘What I mean is someone who give you money, some customer want to buy at the market, someone would give you money,’ the donor said.
‘Would you describe earning three to four thousand Naira a day as begging?’ Ms Howells asked.
‘No,’ the donor replied.
‘You were not living on the streets of Lagos, were you?’ Ms Howells asked.
‘Street is where the market was,’ he replied.
‘You were living in a room you shared with friends, you were not living on the streets, were you?’ Ms Howells asked.
‘The place that we were living we call it street. It’s streets,’ the donor replied.
‘So by telling the officer you were living on the streets, you didn’t mean to suggest you had nowhere to live?’ Ms Howells asked.
‘No,’ the man answered.
‘So what you meant was you were living on the house on the street?’ Ms Howells asked.
‘Yes,’ he replied.
‘Were you trying to give the impression you were a very vulnerable young juvenile with nowhere to live in Lagos?’
After some delay, the witness answered ‘yes’.
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