*Describes Practice As Criminal Enterprise
*Kogi Monarch Raises Alarm Over Kidney Sales
AS cases of organ harvesting in Nigeria continue to rise, a human rights lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, has lamented how vulnerable young Nigerians were being lured into illegal kidney harvesting schemes by medical practitioners and their agents under the guise of medical procedures or financial assistance.
Abubakar, who is also Counsel to social media influencer, VeryDarkMan (VDM), alleged that over 10 young Nigerians may have recently fallen victim to an alleged illegal kidney harvesting network involving medical practitioners and their agents.
Speaking on a television programme on Friday, August 28, Abubakar said the case came to light after a young man approached VDM’s Martin Luther King Centre with a medical report indicating that his left kidney was missing.
He said the centre independently verified the report at two hospitals in Abuja, including a government medical facility in Jabi, where the absence of the young man’s left kidney was reportedly confirmed.
Abubakar explained that the young man was allegedly given about $1,300 after the procedure, while his identity was changed and an affidavit obtained in another name in an attempt to conceal the circumstances surrounding the operation, alleging that other youths had been similarly targeted around Masaka, Nyanya and Mararaba, with some allegedly recruited through agents.
The lawyer claimed that kidneys harvested from some victims were subsequently sold for between N50million and N70million, while the donors received only a paltry sum from the proceeds, describing the practice as a criminal enterprise, as lawful organ donation requires informed consent and must not involve financial inducement.
He also alleged that families of the affected youths were not informed before the procedures and only became aware after the cases emerged.
Recall that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command had earlier dismissed reports of its confirmation that almost all young residents of Mararaba, Nyanya and other parts of the territory had sold their kidneys to organ traffickers.
Indeed, a Facebook user, Labran Abu Labco, had said the Police confirmed the report, alleging that an agent residing in Mararaba had been purchasing human kidneys.
The Command, in a statement on Wednesday, August 26, by its spokesperson, Josephine Adeh (SP), said it had “neither received nor confirmed any report of such nature” and “no statement or communication to that effect has emanated from the Command.”
The statement urged the public to disregard the said publication and refrain from circulating unverified information “capable of causing unnecessary fear, panic and apprehension among residents,” urging “anyone with information regarding the alleged human organ trafficking or any other security concern within the FCT to promptly report the same to the nearest Police Station.”
However, a few days earlier, operatives of the Force Intelligence Department-Special Tactical Squad (FID-STS), during a sting operation at Auta Baleifi in Karu Local Council of Nasarawa State, on August 19, arrested four suspects in connection with an alleged illegal organ harvesting syndicate operating in Nasarawa State and neighbouring communities.
The suspects were identified as Emmanuel Ode, 23; David Idoko, 25; Benjamin Oyime, 48, a nephrologist, from Edo State; and Daniel Otukpa, 53, also a nephrologist, from Benue State.
Police preliminary investigations indicated that the suspects and their accomplices allegedly targeted vulnerable and financially disadvantaged young people, using deceptive means to obtain their consent for illegal organ removal.
Force spokesperson, Anietie Iniedu, said Ode confessed during interrogation to recruiting victims under false pretences, and that on April 24, he took a 22-year-old man, identified as Samuel Ezekiel, to a hospital where his kidney was allegedly removed in exchange for $1,250, about N1.7million.
Iniedu, who disclosed this during a briefing in Abuja, said Idoko told investigators that he was recruited by Ode in 2022 and subsequently had his kidney removed, after which he received N7million.
One alleged victim, who was also taken into custody as a suspect, claimed that Odeh deceived him into undergoing a kidney removal procedure by telling him that his kidney matched that of a recipient before taking him a hospital, where documents were signed and the procedure was allegedly carried out.
He alleged: “After we signed, then later in the night, around 10 to 11pm, they now come and give us money in (US) dollar.”
However, a renal transplant consultant at the facility disputed claims that the procedures were conducted without consent, saying donors were informed about the procedures and consented to the transplants.
The consultant said the preferred practice was for prospective recipients to first seek suitable donors among their relatives before proceeding with transplantation, adding that the facility had conducted five kidney transplant procedures since January this year.
The Police investigators uncovered evidence that official documents were allegedly forged to facilitate the activities of the syndicate, including National Identification Numbers, birth certificates, age declarations, affidavits and consent letters bearing victims’ details.
The Police said clothes allegedly purchased with proceeds from the activities was also recovered, while efforts to apprehend other members of the syndicate still at large were ongoing, adding that the suspects would face prosecution as investigations continue to uncover other persons who may be connected to the alleged organ trafficking network.
The Force stressed that illegal organ harvesting and trafficking remain criminal offences in Nigeria, warning against activities involving the exploitation of vulnerable persons for financial gain.
Not long ago, the Onu Egume of Okura District in Dekina Local Council of Kogi State, Ochimana Simon Anu, expressed concern over alleged cases of youths selling their kidneys to raise money for the purchase of expensive motorcycles and other material possessions.
Anu, in a statement by the Media Custodian of Onu Egume Palace, Momoh Idris Ospaca, described the development as disturbing, dangerous and unacceptable, warning youths against pursuing quick wealth at the expense of their health and future, and individuals operating as agents for kidney buyers in the community to leave the area or face sanctions.
He directed the establishment of a security committee to examine reports involving youths, particularly underage persons, who suddenly acquire expensive motorcycles, including investigating the sources of funds used to purchase motorcycles worth between N1million and N2million, and determine whether any criminal or exploitative activities were involved.
The monarch lamented the growing obsession among some youths with material wealth without corresponding legitimate sources of income, urging them to embrace lawful means of livelihood, acquire useful skills and engage in productive ventures, rather than participate in activities capable of causing permanent damage to their health.
He warned that anyone found to be involved in the activity would face appropriate sanctions under the traditional laws and customs of the community, even as he charged parents, community leaders and residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities that could expose young people to exploitation or life-threatening practices.
