A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode on Thursday said that the former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, may be innocent of the allegation of planning to harvest the organ of a child.
Recall that Ekweremadu and his wife were arrested in the United Kingdom on Thursday and charged with conspiracy to facilitate the travel of a minor for alleged organ harvesting.
Fani-Kayode, in his reaction in a post on his Facebook page, said Ekweremadu should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise by the court.
He wrote, “It is unacceptable and a serious crime under British law for a man to take a child into the United Kingdom to remove its organs FOR SOMEONE ELSE’S USE.
“Under the law, a child CAN NOT give its consent for such a course of action and neither can the parents give consent for such an abominable act on behalf of their wards.
“Children have rights. They are not slaves or chattel that can be bought or sold for their body parts.
“Their parents do NOT have the right to sell them off for this purpose or any other purpose and neither does anyone have the right to buy the child or any of his or her body parts.
“Despite all this, I refuse to assume that Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife are guilty of this wicked act unless and until I see the evidence or they are proved so by a duly constituted court of law.
“There is a presumption of innocence in criminal matters and this is what I hold on to.
“I pray for the Ekweremadu at this difficult time and I also pray for that poor child whose organs were to be removed.
“May God grant us more sensitivity, compassion, love and kindness in this country, especially for our children.”
