Ike Ekweremadu (born 12 May 1962) is a Nigerian politician and a lawyer who hails from
Enugu State and served in the
Senate of Nigeria
The Senate is the upper house, upper chamber of Nigeria's bicameral legislature, the National Assembly (Nigeria), National Assembly. The National Assembly (popularly referred to as NASS) is the nation's legislature and has the power to make ...
for
Enugu West from 3 June 2003 to 5 May 2023 . He is a member of the
People's Democratic Party, and was the
Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate for three (3) consecutive (6th, 7th and 8th) senate. On 23 June 2022, Ekweremadu and his wife were charged in the UK with conspiring to arrange the travel of a 21 year old into the UK in order to
harvest organs. He was found guilty on 23 March 2023 at the
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
. On 5 May 2023, he was sentenced to nine years and eight months imprisonment.
Early life
Ike Ekweremadu was born at Amachara Mpu in
Aninri Local Government Area of
Enugu State, and is of
Igbo origin. He holds both bachelor's and master's degree in law from the
University of Nigeria, and was called to the
Nigerian Bar in 1987. He also holds Doctor of Philosophy degree in law from the
University of Abuja, Nigeria.
Political appointments
He was appointed as the Executive Chairman of Aninri Local Government Council on the platform of the
United Nigeria Congress Party The United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) was a Nigerian political party. It was one of the five state-sanctioned political parties allowed by the government of General Sani Abacha to participate in state assembly elections held in December 1997, i ...
(UNCP) in 1997 and won the Best Council Chairman of the year, in 1997.
Senatorial career

On 12 April 2003, he was elected to the
Nigerian Senate. In September 2003, as Vice Chairman of the senate committee on Information, Chief Ekweremadu stated that the senate would make a serious investigation into allegations of bribery leveled by Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister
Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.
Relations between Nasir El-Rufai and the senate continued to be hostile, and El-Rufai was eventually charged with corruption in 2008.
In 2005, Ike Ekweremadu was beaten in the race for President of the Senate of Nigeria by Senator
Kenechukwu Nnamani.
In July 2006, as spokesperson for the Southern Senators’ Forum, Ekweremadu denied charges that they had made an agreement to return power to the North in the 2007 elections.
In September 2006, President
Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
asked the Senate to review a report by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that laid charges of fraud against Vice-President
Atiku Abubakar. Ike Ekweremadu promised to establish a committee of inquiry whose report would be submitted to the Senate, although he noted that impeachment would be difficult since it would require a 2/3 majority.
Ekweremadu was returned in the 29 April 2007 Nigerian National Assembly election, and elected to the position of
deputy senate president. He was given the job of handing out committee chairmanship positions allocated to the southeast zone, making decisions that were unpopular with leaders such as Senator
Chris Anyanwu, who failed to get the positions they wanted.
In July 2007, Ekweremadu was instrumental in defusing objections to the controversial nomination of
Ojo Maduekwe to a ministerial position.
When President
Umaru Yar'Adua’s Principal Private Secretary
David Edevbie was allegedly indicted in September 2009 in a British court for corruption and money laundering, Ekweremadu refused to take a position, stating that he did not know the facts. In September 2009, Ekweremadu was named co-chairman of a committee to conduct the
primary elections
Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...
for the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate for
Anambra State.
Senatorial election 2011
Ekweremadu was reelected as Senator for Enugu West in the
April 2011 elections, receiving 112,806 votes. The closest runner-up was the candidate of the Peoples for Democratic Change (PDC), Jackson Ezeoffor, who got 7,522 votes.
He was re-elected in the
2015 senate election.
Senatorial election 2019
On 23 February 2019, Ekweremadu was re-elected as senator representing the Enugu West senatorial district For the Fifth Consecutive time having polled 86,088 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mrs Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu of the
All Progressives Congress
The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, t ...
(APC) who polled 15,187 votes.
Following his election, Ekweremadu indicated he would retire from the Nigerian Senate by not running for a further term in 2023.
On 11 June 2019, Ekweremadu lost his bid to become Deputy Senate President of the Nigerian 9th Senate. Ekweremadu contested against
Ovie Omo-Agege who scored 68 votes to emerge Winner. In the early hours of Tuesday, he returned his official cars.
ECOWAS
In September 2009, he was appointed to lead the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ''ad hoc'' committee to work for the return of constitutional order in the
Niger Republic. He was elected First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament and emerged the Speaker of the regional parliament in August 2011.
Attack in Nuremberg, Germany
On 17 August 2019, while attending the Second Annual Cultural Festival and Convention organized by
Ndi-Igbo Germany in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
, Ekweremadu became the victim of a violent attack when members of the
Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB stormed the venue of the event and began to question Ekweremadu about the killings of
Igbos when the
Nigerian army staged Operation Crocodile Smile and Python Dance. They also questioned Ekweremadu about his purported role in the proscription of IPOB in Nigeria. The situation soon degenerated to the extent that Ekweremadu was physically dragged out of the venue, assaulted and pelted with eggs. He would later announce that he got away from the venue with little injuries. The leader of IPOB,
Nnamdi Kanu issued a statement on the attack on Ekweremadu calling it a "polite warning" while at the same time warning other Igbo governors of a possible similar treatment. The four suspects were arrested and convicted of physical assault and sentenced to 20 days of hard labor without any option of fine.
2022 UK organ-harvesting conviction
On 23 June 2022, Ekweremadu was charged alongside his wife, his daughter and Dr Obinna Obeta with conspiring to arrange the travel of a 21 year-old from Lagos into the UK in order to
harvest organs. On 23 March 2023 Ekweremadu, his wife and Dr Obinna Obeta were convicted of conspiring to exploit the man for his kidney. Prosecutors told the
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
trial that the victim was brought to the UK in 2022 to provide a kidney in an £80,000 private transplant at the
Royal Free Hospital, London. Prosecutors said that the victim was offered up to £7,000 and a job in exchange for traveling to the UK. The prosecution had confirmed the maximum sentence in the organ harvesting case is one of life.
The organ was to be removed and given to the couple's daughter - she was cleared of the same charge.
On 5 May 2023, Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months imprisonment. Meanwhile, Obeta was sentenced to ten years imprisonment and Ekweremadu's wife was sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment.
Awards and honours
* CFR, Knight of the Good Shepherd, Ikeoha Ndigbo.
* Rotary Club’s Outstanding Citizen of the World 2017.
* Dr. Kwame Nkurumah Africa Leadership Award (2005).
References
External links
*
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekweremadu, Ike
1962 births
Living people
Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria)
Senators of the 9th National Assembly (Nigeria)
Senators of the 8th National Assembly (Nigeria)
Senators of the 7th National Assembly (Nigeria)
Senators of the 6th National Assembly (Nigeria)
Senators of the 5th National Assembly (Nigeria)
University of Nigeria alumni
Organ transplantation in the United Kingdom
Nigerian politicians convicted of crimes
Modern slavery in the United Kingdom
People convicted of human trafficking