Organ Harvest: I Thought I Was Being Scammed By Doctors - Ekweremadu Tells Court

 The trial of Ike Ekweremadu resumed on Tuesday. The embattled former Deputy Senate President, who is facing charges of organ trafficking, on Tuesday March 7, told the court that he thought was being "scammed" by doctors, IGBERETV reports. 

60-year-old Ekweremadu is accused of conspiring to facilitate the travel of a 21-year-old man, David Nwamini, to Britain to use him as an organ donor for his sick daughter, Sonia. 

Nwamini, a street trader from Lagos was to be paid up to £7,000 in exchange for a kidney, the Old Bailey heard. Nwamini was promised opportunities in the UK for helping Mr Ekweremadu's daughter. 

Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice, 56, daughter Sonia, 25, and medical "middleman" Dr Obinna Obeta all deny the same charge. 

The street trader was falsely presented as Sonia's cousin in a failed bid to persuade medics at the Royal Free Hospital in London to carry out the £80,000 private procedure, the court was told. 

Giving evidence at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, London on Tuesday, Ekweremadu was asked about an invoice for £8,000 he received via his brother Diwe on 8 February 2022. 

In his message, Diwe wrote he had received a "huge invoice" from a consultant doctor. 

He wrote: "It looks like they're all out to exploit people's unfortunate situation," the court heard. 

The defendant told jurors his view was that he was being "scammed". 

Defence barrister Martin Hicks KC asked: “Why not at this stage say we are being scammed Dr Obeta, end of, stop?”

Mr Ekweremadu replied: "My daughter's life was on the line so if we stop we will be putting my daughter's life in danger. So we just keep moving. “Everybody was obviously taking advantage of my daughter's ill health.” 

The defendant was also asked about an unsigned affidavit dated 19 January 2022 which was recovered from Dr Obeta's home in Southwark, south London, which falsely stated that the proposed donor was Sonia's cousin. 

Mr Ekweremadu told jurors: “I felt embarrassed because that's not true and I told my daughter to ignore the document.” 

He added: “I told her not to sign it... If you sign an affidavit you have to tell the truth.” 

Asked who created the document, the defendant said: “I have no idea.” 

Mr Ekweremadu added his family had written to a court in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to find the origin of the affidavit. 

Mr Hicks told the court: “It's a forgery.” Mr Ekweremadu agreed. The trial continues.

List Of Male And Female Senators Who Have Represented Abuja Since 1999

 Federal Capital Territory Senatorial District in Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria covers 6 Local Governments which include: Abuja, Abaji, Kwali, Bwari, Gwagwalada and Kuje. FCT senate district has within its territory Nigera’s seat of power (Aso Rock Presidential Villa, the National Assembly and Judicial headquarters). Philip Aduda is the current representative of FCT Senatorial District.

List of senators representing FCT

Khairat Abdulrazaq-Gwadabe--- PDP 1999 - 2003 F
Isa Maina--- PDP 2003 - 2007 M 
Adamu Sidi Ali--- PDP 2007 - 2011 M 
Philip Tanimu Aduda--- PDP 2011– 2023  M
Ireti Heebah Kingibe--- LP 2023-?  F

Anybody With The Last Name Vivor Has A Very Strong Lagos Pedigree - Reno Omokri

 Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri has stated that anyone with the last name 'Vivor' has a strong Lagos pedigree, IGBERETV reports.

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivor is currently the Labour Party's gubernatorial candidate in Lagos state.

Reno wrote on his Twitter handle;

"Anybody with the last name Vivor has a very strong Lagos pedigree. The name is short for Survivor. The Vivors are people who endured slavery and made it back to Lagos more than a century ago as survivors. Rhodes-Vivor means they survived Rhodes and lived to tell. 

#TableShaker"

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour Visits Obasanjo At Ota

 

Galaxy Backbone: We Blocked Over 200 Cyberattacks During General Election

 Muhammad Abubakar, managing director of Galaxy Backbone (GBB), says the federal government blocked over 200 cyberattacks during the presidential and national assembly elections.

Galaxy Backbone is an information and communications technology services provider, owned by the federal government.

Abubakar spoke on Tuesday at the opening session of a two-day ministerial training for GBB’s board members and management staff in Abuja.

“On the election day alone, we were able to block more than 200 attacks and the next day, the attacks geometrically increased to about 1.2 million and all were blocked from our own businesses,” he said.

This is the first time a government official would be talking about the attempts to hack into the INEC’s server during the last elections.

Political parties have alleged that there were attempts to manipulate the election results by hackers.

Before the election, INEC assured that its system for transmitting election results cannot be penetrated by hackers.

Also speaking at the event, Isa Pantami, minister of communication and digital economy, applauded GBB’s approach to digital infrastructural development while saving the cost of governance.

“In this training, I will be very much sincere with you to point out some areas where we need significant improvement,“ Pantami said.

“Training is key when it comes to improving our performance and at the same time training is key when it comes to our self-evaluation, self-judgement, self-assessment.

“We need to think out of the box to discover new areas for government revenue generation.

“We need to be proactive in our thinking, let us not maintain the same process every day when it comes to revenue generation.”

The training has the theme “Positioning the GBB Team for Effective Management and Leadership in the 4th Industrial Revolution”.

Olumide Oworu Set To Retire Desmond Elliot From Lagos House Of Assembly See Why

 

Kwankwaso Did Not Congratulate Tinubu — NNPP

 

The New Nigeria Peoples Party on Tuesday described as untrue reports that its presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, congratulated the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, of the All Progressive Congress.

The NNPP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Agbo Major, said the presidential election was “grossly flawed, contentious and disputed.”

He said, “The report that Engr. Kwankwaso congratulated Tinubu was a figment of the fertile imagination of anti-democrats, political hirelings and fifth columnists leveraging on the popularity of the party’s presidential flag bearer.

“The NNPP rejects the outcome of the February 25 presidential election as it did not reflect the will, wish and mandate of the Nigerians who trooped out to vote but were disappointed by the failure of INEC to conduct credible and transparent elections and fulfil its promise to upload the polling units results to its portals which would have guaranteed the authenticity of the results and declaration of the winner of the presidential election.

“Sadly, the presidential poll turned out to be a charade as it failed to meet the expectation of Nigerians and the international community. NNPP was a target of these electoral robbers who wanted the status quo to remain, in place of the new and better Nigeria the party promised if voted into office.

“It is unthinkable that Kwankwaso would hastily congratulate Asiwaju Tinubu on his questionable mandate which other candidates also claimed they won and had approached the court to seek redress. All lovers of democracy, due process and rule of law will wait for the determination of the election petition in court.

“Until the court decides them one way or the other, it will be preposterous for NNPP that was rigged out in most of its strongholds across the country to concede defeat and congratulate INEC’s imposed ‘winner’.

“The mood of the nation since the electoral body mischievously declared Tinubu the ‘winner’ of the election clearly showed that it was justice juxtaposed, absolutely unacceptable to majority of Nigerians who desire and deserve a new Nigeria which only the NNPP can usher in March 11 is another date with destiny as Nigerians go to the polls to choose their governors and state legislators.

“It is yet another opportunity to vote for NNPP candidates for a better, greater and prosperous Nigeria. Join us to make it happen and experience a better life.”