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Beatrice Ekweremadu, the wife of former Nigerian Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, has reportedly returned to Nigeria after being released from custody in the United Kingdom.
She arrived in Abuja on Tuesday, January 21, 2026, after completing the custodial portion of her sentence connected to an organ-harvesting conspiracy case. She was received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by family members and associates.
Her return marks her first visit to Nigeria since the case began in 2022. Reports indicate that residents of her hometown, Mpu in the Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State, marked her return, while her husband remains incarcerated in the UK.
Mrs Ekweremadu was convicted in May 2023 at the Old Bailey in London and sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment for conspiracy relating to the travel of a 21-year-old Lagos-based trader to the UK for the purpose of kidney removal.
The organ was intended for the couple’s daughter, Sonia Ekweremadu, who has a chronic kidney condition.
The prosecution was brought under the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, the first time the legislation was applied to a case involving organ harvesting.
Under UK sentencing guidelines, non-violent offenders may be released on licence after serving half of their custodial term. Her release was also linked to administrative measures introduced by UK authorities to address prison overcrowding, according to reports.
Despite her return, Senator Ekweremadu remains in a UK correctional facility. He was sentenced in May 2023 to nine years and eight months’ imprisonment after the court found him to be the central figure in the conspiracy.
