- Photo: Ukpo*
David Ukpo, who initially agreed to donate his kidney to give Ike Ekweremadu’s sick daughter, Sonia, a chance to live isn’t the 15-year-old kid he told British authorities he is. He was born on Oct. 12, 2000. That means he’ll be 22 years old in October this year, as his passport and BVN data show. (The passport and BVN data have been doing the social media rounds, but I’ve decided to conceal the numbers to protect his privacy).
He was also not smuggled into London, as Ekweremadu’s December 28, 2021 visa application support letter to the British High Commission shows.
I dislike Ekweremadu the politician but empathize with Ekweremadu the father. As the father of three girls myself, I’ll do anything I can to save my daughters from death. That’s all this is about. Nothing more.
So far, the evidence seems to be pointing in the direction of the possibility that 21-year-old Ukpo, upon arriving in the UK after agreeing to donate his kidney to Sonia, changed his mind and decided to seek asylum by claiming to be a 15-year-old child who’s trafficked to London for organ harvesting.
If that turns out to be true, that would be a horrible way to escape Buhari’s Nigeria. Cashing in on other people’s personal tragedy–and destroying them in the process– just to pursue your dream to leave Nigeria is singularly evil.