Nigerian Senator Recruited Kidney Donor and Trafficked Him to UK for Transplant, Court Told

Wife, daughter, and doctor friend also on trial under Modern Slavery Act

Undated photo showing Lady Justice statue on top of the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey, in central London. Clara Molden/PA

LONDON—A wealthy Nigerian politician and his wife offered an itinerant hawker in Lagos up to £7,000 to give his kidney to their ill daughter and lied about him being a distant cousin in order to get a UK visa, a jury at the Old Bailey in London has been told.

Ike Ekweremadu, 60, his wife Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 56, and their daughter Sonia, 25, went on trial on Monday along with Obinna Obeta, a doctor. All four deny conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of another person with a view to their exploitation.