Senator Ike Ekweremadu, a detained former deputy president of the Senate, on Tuesday, requested the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss the lawsuit filed by David Ukpo, the alleged victim of organ harvesting, to halt the publication of his biographical information to a London court, IgbereTV reports
In a rebuttal affidavit to the lawsuit, Ekweremadu said that Ukpo had no reason to be concerned about disclosing the details of his visa application and bank account opening other than if he had been misled about his true age.
Bright Ekweremadu, the jailed senator’s younger brother, provided a counter affidavit in which he refuted claims that he had asked for Ukpo’s biographical information.
The lawmaker is currently in detention in London over allegations of organ harvesting.
The deponent claimed that Ukpo’s bank account opening package and the information included in his visa application request were what the Federal High Court ordered to be disclosed to the London court.
In any case, Ekweremadu disclosed that the necessary documents had now been sent to two distinct courts in the United Kingdom in accordance with the court’s ruling from July 1, 2022.
The senator said that it was now too late for Ukpo to ask for the reversal of an order that had already been executed to ascertain solely his genuine age.
Therefore, he requested that the lawsuit be dismissed on the grounds that it was unjustified, a misuse of the legal system, and that it had been trumped by circumstance.
Ukpo’s attorney, Mr. Ojonugwa Oguche, requested an adjournment of the case during Tuesday’s sessions so that he could respond to the counter affidavit.
Eyitayo Fatigun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), represented Ekweremadu.
The matter was scheduled for Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo’s hearing on September 20 after the request was granted.
On August 30, Ukpo—an alleged victim of the alleged organ harvesting scam involving Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice—asked the court to overturn its July 1 ruling releasing his biodata for use in Ekweremadu’s prosecution in a London court.
While criticising the court’s actions that resulted in the order being issued, Ukpo claimed that his fundamental rights to a fair trial and privacy had been gravely violated.
His complaint was that neither he nor the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, who serves as the Federation’s Chief Law Officer, was added as a defendant to the lawsuit.
Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo granted the request for the release of the bank account opening package after hearing arguments from Chief Adegboyega Awomolo SAN. As a result, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) was required to send the records to the London court in accordance with the Nigerian court’s order
