By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has joined the House of Representatives to appeal to the United Kingdom for leniency in the sentencing of Mr Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, scheduled for Friday, May 5
The upper chamber’s decision to appeal for clemency followed a motion raised by Senator Chukwuka Utazi during Wednesday’s plenary session.
This is coming after the House of Representatives appealed to the UK government to temper justice with mercy.
In the motion, Senator Utazi recalled that Mr Ekweremadu was a former Deputy Senate President for 12 years and the former Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament and has made enormous contributions to the development of democracy in Nigeria, West Africa and beyond.
He added that Mr Ekweremadu and his wife are first-time offenders with no previous criminal records and that since the matter is in the United Kingdom, a novel approach in sentencing be adopted by tempering justice with mercy, as the publicity given to the trial is enough warning to would-be offenders in the future.
Mr Utazi further noted that the British judicial authorities should consider the long history of good relationship existing between Nigeria and the British government and that this is the first time the Senate is making this kind of plea to the British government to yield to a request for clemency for the Ekweremadus.
The Senate President, Mr Ahmad Lawan, in his response, said he had written a letter to the British judicial authorities two weeks ago seeking clemency on behalf of the Senate.
The appeal is ahead of the sentencing of Mr Ekweremadu, who, alongside his wife; and their doctor, Obinna Obeta, were convicted for organ trafficking in the first verdict of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act.
The organ was for the couple’s 25-year-old daughter, identified as Miss Sonia Ekweremadu, but the Old Bailey cleared her of the same charge.
Modupe Gbadeyanka