A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed an application by the Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOSCO) challenging earlier court orders that granted former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu access to David Ukpo’s biodata for use in a UK court.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, delivering the ruling, held that EDOSCO lacked the locus standi to file the suit on Ukpo’s behalf. He stated that under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009 (FREPR 2009), EDOSCO does not have the legal personality to bring such an action.
The judge noted that EDOSCO’s counsel, Bamidele Igbinedion, identified the organisation as the applicant but failed to explicitly state this on the application itself, instead including it within the supporting affidavit. Justice Ekwo added that the motion’s prayers were not related to fundamental rights enforcement and were now academic, as the requested information had already been used during the Ekweremadus’ trial and subsequent conviction.
[MORE: Ekweremadu’s Wife Returns to Nigeria After Release from UK Prison]
In 2022, Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, were charged in the UK with conspiring to traffic David Ukpo for organ harvesting. Initially, UK authorities believed Ukpo was a minor, but evidence from his passport and bank verification number (BVN) later confirmed he was 21.
The Ekweremadus then obtained court orders from the Federal High Court in Abuja for the release of Ukpo’s biodata from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), and two banks. This information proved crucial to their defence.
In March 2023, Ekweremadu, his wife, and a medical doctor, Obinna Obeta, were convicted under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015. Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, Beatrice received a four-year-and-six-month sentence, and Obeta was given a 10-year term. Beatrice has since been released and returned to Nigeria.
