Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
Mr. Felix Nwamini Ukpo, father of David Ukpo Nwamini — the young man at the centre of the alleged illegal kidney transplant saga involving former Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, Ike Ekweremadu — is dead.
His death, which occurred on Sunday, was confirmed by one of his sons and David’s sibling, Boniface Nwamini Ukpo.
Background
In 2022, David was allegedly taken to the United Kingdom to donate his kidney to one of Ekweremadu’s daughters, Sonia.
Mr. Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice, and a Nigerian doctor, Obinna Obeta, were later arrested after David reportedly had a change of heart and alerted the police.
The trio were subsequently charged and convicted by a London court for trafficking David from Lagos to the UK in order to illegally harvest his kidney for a transplant for their seriously ill daughter.
In May 2023, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that Ike Ekweremadu had been sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison in the UK’s first illegal organ-harvesting prosecution. His wife, Beatrice, 56, received four years and six months, while Dr. Obinna Obeta, 51 — described by prosecutors as a “middleman” — was sentenced to 10 years.
Father Dies Without Seeing Son
Little has been heard from the family or from David since the conviction until Monday, when Boniface spoke in Abakaliki to confirm his father’s death.
He lamented that the pains and heartbreak his father suffered over David’s travails may have contributed to his death.
According to him, the late Mr. Ukpo battled with the disappointment of not seeing or speaking to his son for years.
“Yes, my father died yesterday (Sunday) afternoon at about 12 p.m. It’s so sad that since the incident happened in 2022, we have not spoken with my brother, David Nwamini,” Boniface said.
“So, my father has been sick over the saga, and yesterday he finally died,” he told our reporter.
