…as police bust organ-harvesting syndicate in Abuja
. Two doctors, alleged canvassers arrested
A young Nigerian, Samuel Ezekiel, has recounted how his friend allegedly changed his identity to “Hassan Abubakar” before he underwent kidney removal at Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, Abuja.
Ezekiel also alleged that after he was paid in dollars for the procedure, he handed the money to his friend, Emmanuel Odeh, who allegedly changed the cash and spent part of it on phones, power banks and Wi-Fi devices.
He disclosed this while speaking to journalists during the Nigeria Police Force parade of suspects linked to an alleged organ-harvesting syndicate in Abuja and Nasarawa State on Friday.
Ezekiel said Odeh initially told him they were going to the hospital, adding that he trusted his friend enough to comply with his instructions.
“It’s my friend that deceived me. His name is Emmanuel Udeh,” Ezekiel said.
He added, “He deceived me that we are going to the hospital because I don’t know what—because of anything he told me, I will just, uh, do what he asked me to do.”
According to him, Odeh later linked him with another man, David, who took him to an agent identified as Ben for medical tests.
He said after his initial test results did not match those of the intended kidney recipient, the agent later informed them that another recipient had been found.
Ezekiel said the agent later told them that his kidney matched another person’s, after which he was taken to Ben’s place.
He said, “Then he now said that they are going to change my name, that I will be bearing Hassan Abubakar.”
Ezekiel said they were subsequently taken to the Federal High Court, where an affidavit was prepared before they proceeded to Wellington Hospital.
“Then from there, they now took us to the Federal High Court, where they did the affidavit. Then from there, we now went to the hospital, Wellington Clinic,” he said.
He said they signed documents at the hospital before he was taken into the theater.
According to Ezekiel, the money was brought to them at about 10pm or 11pm before he entered the theatre.
“After we sign, then later in the night around 10:00 to 11:00, they now come and give us, uh, money in dollars.
“After they give us the money, then when I wanted to enter the theater, I gave Emmanuel the money to hold it,” he said.
Ezekiel said that after he came out of the theatre, Odeh had already changed the money and spent part of it on electronic devices.
“After I gave him the money, when I came out from the theater, then later in the evening, Emmanuel came back. He had already gone and changed the money,” he said.
He added that Odeh bought two phones, two power banks and two Wi-Fi devices.
“He bought two phones, two power banks, and two Wi-Fi. Then he now gave me one and held one. Everything he bought, he gave me one and held one,” Ezekiel said.
The victim said they remained in the hospital for about a week before they were discharged, after which Odeh took him to a hotel for two days.
“Then we spent almost one week in the hospital. After they discharged us from the hospital, then they took us, then Emmanuel now took me to a hotel for two days,” he said.
Ezekiel said Odeh later took him to Cross River State, where they stayed for about three months.
“After the hotel, we spent two days, and then he now took me to his state in Cross River. We spent almost like three months in Cross River,” he said.
He said he eventually asked Odeh about the money he had received but was told that it had been spent.
“Before I asked him, ‘Where is the money?’ He told me that the money had finished,” Ezekiel said.
He added that Odeh later told him they did not have money for transportation back to Abuja.
“Then he said that we don’t have transport for coming back. He collected my phone and sold it. Then that is how we had transport and came back to Abuja,” he said.
Asked whether he knew that his kidney would be removed, Ezekiel said he had been informed but claimed that Odeh reassured him that the procedure would not cause him problems.
“He just told me that it’s something that they will just, uh, convert it, that there’s not any issue in there, that if they convert it, I can do everything that I want to do, that I will not have any issue,” he said.
Ezekiel confirmed that he consented to the procedure, which he said took place at Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, on April 24.
He also said he was paid in dollars but could not state the exact amount, recalling that he received several $100 notes and a $50 note.
Asked about the amount, he said, “It’s 100, 100 dollars with one 50 dollar.”
However, he said he could not state the exact amount he received.
The account came as the police intensified investigations into an alleged organ-harvesting network operating around Abuja and Nasarawa State.
The Force on Friday paraded suspects, including two doctors and alleged recruiters, following a sting operation in the Auta Balefi area of Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The police identified Odeh as one of the suspects, accusing him of recruiting victims for the alleged organ-harvesting network.
Also paraded were Dr. Benjamin Oyime, a nephrologist and consultant to Wellington Hospital; Dr Daniel Otukpa, also a nephrologist and Acting Director of Clinical Services at the hospital; and David Idoko.
The police alleged that the syndicate targeted vulnerable young people and facilitated illegal kidney removal through forged documents and false representations.
The Force said investigations were ongoing to identify and arrest other members of the alleged network.
The case came to public attention after activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, said a young man had approached his NGO with medical evidence showing that his left kidney was missing.
The police subsequently commenced investigations into the allegations, leading to the arrest and parade of the suspects.
(Source: Punch with modified headline)
