The Central Criminal Court, London, also known as Old Bailey, has denied bail to former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
It effectively means the former Deputy Senate President will spend his next Christmas in detention.
In a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday, gave its verdict denying the bail on grounds that Ekweremadu would flee the country.
In the bail application, 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 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 Ekweremadu electronically to monitor his movement.
As regards attestation of Ekweremadu’s character by respected Nigerians and organisations, his lawyer also argued that the lawmaker had proven to be a caring and responsible father and could not escape from London, abandoning his wife and sick daughter.
The defense further told the court that they had sureties and securities of nearly half a million pounds sterling from 11 people to secure Ekweremadu’s release on bail.
Stating that Ekweremadu was a highly regarded, well-known public figure, his defence also referred to Ekweremadu’s involvement in some Global humanitarian courses.
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However, the court after hearing the prosecution argue how 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 Ekweremadu’s case will be heard on the 16th or 19th of December 2022 before the commencement of the trial in January.
The trial of the Ekweremadus will now begin on 31st January 2023.
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.