The ongoing Old Bailey trial of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Beatrice, his wife, Sonia, their daughter and Dr Obinna Obeta, heard on Thursday that Obeta scammed the Senator’s family out of N4.5m while arranging for Sonia to get a kidney transplant through David Nwamini, the donor he sourced.
Though Obeta didn’t know from the onset of the discussion he had with the Senator’s younger brother, Dr Isaac Diwe Ekweremadu, in September 2021, that the would be recipient was Sonia, he encouraged his former University of Nigeria, Nsukka, classmate to get his brother involved in funding the planned kidney transplant. He told Diwe that was how he partly funded the transplant he had two months earlier.
When the discussion progressed, Obeta sent a bill of N4.5m to Diwe, saying N1m was agent’s commission, and the rest for the 21-year old donor. However, all Nwamini received was just N177, 100. Obeta’s brother-in-law, Ogbonna, who was supposed to be the agent, got just over N223, 000. Jurors were told neither Ogbonna nor Nwamini was told the amount that had been negotiated for them.
Under cross-examination from the Senator’s barrister, Martin Hicks, KC, and the Crown prosecutor, Hugh Davies, KC, an agitated Obeta reluctantly admitted from the witness box that he had “scammed” both the Ekweremadus and Nwamini.
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When Hicks asked: “you were or were you not a substantial beneficiary of the monies paid by the Ekweremadus, were you?” The doctor got angry and said it made it look as if his labour of love to save a life was for monetary reward. “l don’t think l did that,” he responded.
Even though the evidence from the defence said it improved his First Bank of Nigeria balance to N4.9m from it’s previous balance of N400. When Hicks asked that aside the N177, 100, “did Mr. Nwamini get any of this money?” he arranged for the donor. He tried explaining and said: “they didn’t know l was trying to secure some money for him.”
The judge , Mr. Justice Johnson had to intervene to extract an answer from the doctor. He then asked Obeta, “l think the answer is it didn’t go to David.” It was then Obeta replied with a “yes.”
When Davies later had the floor, he too asked if Nwamini was aware that something had been put aside for him from the Ekweremadus for agreeing to donate his kidney. Obeta told jurors: “l didn’t tell him anything.” The trial continues.
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