By Tunde Oyedoyin, London
Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, sat motionless from his prison yesterday, as his daughter’s application to not stand trial with him and her mother for their “conspiracy to harvest organ” charges was thrown out by Justice Johnson at the Old Bailey.
Sonia, 25, was in the dock with her mother, Beatrice. But the senator who followed proceedings via video link looked unmoved as the judge ruled that she was not unfit to stand a “criminal trial lasting seven weeks” as her defence barrister, Femi Oni, had argued.
But it was a day of the battle of expert witnesses as both her barrister and the Crown prosecutor used the testimonies and reports of expert witnesses to back their arguments in the courtroom.
After tabling the application for “stay of proceedings” on the basis that “she’s unfit” medically and psychologically due to her ongoing thrice a week dialysis, both sides of the bench led their expert witnesses in testimonies via video link, beginning with the Manchester-based professor that Oni had lined up.
After being sworn in, the defence asked him: “Did you have opportunity to get consultation with her before writing his report?” He replied with a “yes.” Asked if he has a report on “what she’s suffering from?” the professor told the court that, “she’s developed from a young age, a kidney condition” that led to a gradual dysfunction and consequently, “her life is dependent on dialysis treatment until she has a kidney transplant.”
Source: The Guardian
