By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Criminal Court, otherwise known as the Old Bailey in London, has denied bail to Nigeria’s former Deputy Senate President, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, ahead of his trial set to begin in late January.
The court, in a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday, December 20, gave its verdict denying the bail on the grounds that the lawmaker would flee the country.
In the bail application, Mr Ekweremadu’s lawyer had argued that the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and the Attorney-General of the Federal had written to the court that Mr Ekweremadu was not a flight risk.
The lawyer further argued that a guarantee to produce him should he pose a flight risk was given and that the Nigeria High Commission in the UK had equally given the option of tagging Mr Ekweremadu electronically to monitor his movement.
His lawyer, as part of attestation to the senator’s character, also argued that Mr Ekweremadu had proven to be a caring and responsible father and could not escape from London, abandoning his wife and sick daughter.
The defence further told the court that they had sureties and securities of nearly half a million pounds sterling from 11 people to secure Mr Ekweremadu’s release on bail.
Stating that he was a highly regarded, well-known public figure, his defence also referred to Mr Ekweremadu’s involvement in some global humanitarian courses.
However, the court, after hearing the prosecution argue how Mr Ekweremadu is a flight risk, denied his bail application, stressing that the bail would not make much difference even as the trial is just over a month away.
Prior to Tuesday’s hearing, the Old Bailey had agreed that arguments in Mr Ekweremadu’s case would be heard on December 16 or 19, 2022, before the commencement of the trial on January 31.
Mr Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, were arrested on June 23 and charged with conspiracy to traffic a person for organ harvesting in violation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Modupe Gbadeyanka