Nigerian DJ sold his kidney in Egypt to buy a new laptop – British journalist

Lobel, a former BBC A correspondent in Nigeria revealed this in a documentary on the former Nigerian lawmaker Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

The documentary, titled “How Senator Ekweremadu was arrested in London for organ harvesting” and produced by a seasoned Nigerian journalist Chude Jideonworevealed some background details of the events leading up to Ekweremadus’ ordeal.

Let us recall that the former vice-president of the Senate, alongside his wife, Beatrice and a doctor, Obinna Obettawas convicted in the UK last year of organ trafficking involving a Nigerian male victim.

The trio were found guilty of conspiring to arrange the 21-year-old’s trip in order to exploit him for a body part, his kidney to be precise.

Following their conviction, which sent ripples across the UK as the convicts were the first Africans to be sentenced under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act, Lobe decided to dig deeper into the story and travelled to Nigeria to extract first-hand information.

However, the independent journalist uncovered shocking revelations that exposed the desperation of some Nigerians and the risks they face in their quest to make money.

“I was shocked by what I found in Nigeria and how the country has changed in the last ten years. I was also shocked by what some people were willing to do for their kidneys, especially one person I met there,” he said. he said.

Lobe recalls his interaction with a computer dealer in Nigeria, whose customer had traveled to Egypt to sell his kidney to raise money to improve his life.

“We actually met the gentleman who owned the computer store and he was selling used computers and someone had come to him and explained that the money he was going to give him for a laptop so he could become a DJ and stop the manual labor that he was doing, was because he had sold his kidney.

“He had arranged a trip to Egypt to sell his kidney and he intended to use the money to buy himself a better life. But the risks he took to do so and the care he needed and did not appear to be receiving were shocking,” he added. he declared.

The freelance journalist said he was concerned about the health of the “organ trafficker”, who needed expensive and complicated post-operative care but did not appear to have the means to access it.

“One of the things that struck me was that the store owner told me that this guy had come to see him and he didn’t look well. There’s a concern that the follow-up care, which is very expensive and very complicated, is not going to be provided. Where would he have gotten the money for the follow-up care? Who would have taken care of him?”

“If the operation had taken place in Egypt, why would he have come back to Nigeria for help? So many questions. It’s illegal for a reason,” he added. Lobe added.