Shockwaves are reverberating across Yorùbáland and the global Yorùbá diaspora following the sudden death of the Baba Ọba (King’s Father) of the famed Oyotunji African Village in South Carolina, USA. The late Baba Ọba, Lukman Arohunfale, a revered socialite and traditionalist, passed away under circumstances already sparking fierce controversy. His death comes just days after he publicly accused the newly installed Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty Oba Akeem Adéyẹmọ Owoade, of allegedly ordering his courtiers to beat him mercilessly during a recent courtesy visit to the Oyo palace in Nigeria. In a widely circulated voice recording, the deceased recounted how what was meant to be a simple homage turned violent. Although the Baba Ọba had reportedly battled ill health in the past year, growing insinuations suggest that the alleged physical assault may have aggravated his condition, ultimately leading to his untimely death. The palace in Oyo recently denied that s...
A United Kingdom-based doctor, Obinna Obeta, accused of conniving with the Nigerian ex-Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, currently facing trial on trafficking and organ harvesting in the United Kingdom, has opened up on why he lied about a potential donor.
The doctor, from Southwark, South London, was charged under the Modern Slavery Act. Obeta, who appeared at Bexley Magistrates’ Court on 13 July, is charged with arranging the travel of 21-year-old Davi Ukpo from Nigeria to the UK.
He is also accused of conspiring with Ekweremadu to arrange or facilitate the travel of the man with a view of him (Ukpo) being exploited through organ harvesting.
But appearing in court on Monday, Obeta admitted that he lied about a potential kidney donor because he was “desperate” for his own operation to go ahead.
The Old Bailey heard how Dr Obeta had travelled with a donor from Nigeria in 2021 who he incorrectly said was his cousin, BBC reports
He denies breaking modern slavery laws.
According to BBC, the court on Monday heard how Dr Obeta had successfully undergone a kidney transplant in the UK in 2021, with a donor travelling from Nigeria who was said to be his cousin.
But asked by his defence barrister, Sally Howes KC, if the man was in fact his cousin, Dr Obeta admitted that he was not.
“No, he’s not a blood relative. I wish to apologise for that,” Dr Obeta said.
“At that point, I was really desperate to survive,” he added.
Asked if he accepted that by identifying him as a cousin was a lie, Dr Obeta said: “I’m not proud of that.”
Meanwhile, Obeta denied that he had offered any money for the donor’s kidney, or any kind of reward and told the court that he had kept in touch with the man after the operation.
“He was more like my son at this point,” Dr Obeta said.
The court heard that after his operation, Dr Obeta had contacted his donor to ask if he was able to find any further potential donors.
“There were others I had in mind. It’s not an easy task,” said Dr Obeta.
He told the court that he needed to know the motives of potential donors, while others were not going to have kidneys that matched.
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