- Ekweremadu lives blameless life – Counsel
BY EDMOND ODOK – Respite may be coming the way of former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice, as a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday ordered the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to release the official bio-data of David Nwamini to the embattled couple.
In the application dated and filed on June 27 by their counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Adegboyega Awomolo, the lawmaker and his wife had sued NIMC and four others.
Others listed in the suit are the Comptroller General (C-G), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS); Stanbic-IBTC Bank; United Bank of Africa (UBA) and Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc as 2nd to 5th respondents respectively.
The presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, also ruled that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), and two commercial banks involved in the matter should release Nwamini’s details in their possession to the couple.
The court order followed an originating summon brought before it by the detained couple through Awomolo.
The couple are being detained by the United Kingdom (UK) authorities over charges of conspiring to bring a child to Britain for organ harvesting with Nwamini said to be the victim.
Following their arrest by the London Metropolitan Police, they were arraigned before Uxbridge Magistrate Court which ordered they be remanded in custody till July 7 while investigations continue into the allegations against them.
Although the Met police said Nwamini was 15, the NIS said it issued an international passport indicating his age as 21 after due process.
Moving to clear his clients of the allegations and any wrongdoing, Awomolo approached the court in Abuja, seeking an order directing the NIMC to produce the Certified True Copy of the details of David Ukpo Nwamini.
He also urged the court to direct NIMC to produce and release Nwamini’s National Identification Number (NIN) in its possession for the purpose of facilitating the criminal investigation and tendering same to establish his client’s innocence.
Furthermore, Awomolo pleaded that the Court directs Comptroller General of NIS to provide his clients with the documents and application form which Nwamini presented to obtain his international passport.
Similarly, the Senior lawyer had also prayed the Court to order Stanbic IBTC Bank and UBA to provide the Certified True Copy (CTC) of Nwamini’s mandate card and account opening package in their custody.
According to him, all the documents requested are meant to assist the criminal investigation and they will be tendered as evidence before the Uxbridge Magistrate Court in the UK.
