A young Nigerian, Samuel Ezekiel, has alleged that his friend, Emmanuel Odeh, deceived him into undergoing kidney removal at Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, Abuja, after allegedly changing his identity to “Hassan Abubakar” for the procedure.
Ezekiel further alleged that after he was paid in United States dollars for the kidney donation, he handed the money to Odeh for safekeeping before entering the operating theatre, only to discover later that his friend had exchanged the cash and spent part of it on electronic devices.
He made the allegations on Friday while speaking to journalists during the parade of suspects linked to an alleged organ-harvesting syndicate operating in Abuja and Nasarawa State.
According to Ezekiel, Odeh initially told him they were going to a hospital, and he followed him because he trusted his friend.
“It’s my friend that deceived me. His name is Emmanuel Odeh,” he said.
Ezekiel said Odeh subsequently introduced him to a man identified as David, who took him to an agent known as Ben for medical examinations.
He explained that after his initial test results did not match those of the intended kidney recipient, the agent informed him that another recipient had been found and that his kidney was a match.
Ezekiel said he was later informed that his name would be changed to “Hassan Abubakar” before the procedure.
“Then he now said that they were going to change my name, that I will be bearing Hassan Abubakar,” he recounted.
He said the group subsequently went to the Federal High Court, where an affidavit was prepared, before proceeding to Wellington Hospital.
“Then from there, they now took us to the Federal High Court, where they did the affidavit. Then from there, we now went to the hospital, Wellington Clinic,” he said.
According to him, after documents were signed at the hospital, he was prepared for surgery.
He said the payment was delivered late at night, shortly before he entered the theatre.
“After we signed, then later in the night around 10:00 to 11:00, they came and gave us money in dollars.
“After they gave us the money, then when I wanted to enter the theatre, I gave Emmanuel the money to hold,” he said.
Ezekiel alleged that when he came out of the theatre, Odeh had already exchanged the dollars and used part of the proceeds to purchase electronic devices.
“After I gave him the money, when I came out from the theatre, then later in the evening, Emmanuel came back. He had already gone and changed the money,” he said.
He alleged that Odeh bought two mobile phones, two power banks and two Wi-Fi devices, keeping one of each for himself and giving the other to Ezekiel.
“He bought two phones, two power banks, and two Wi-Fi. Then he now gave me one and held one. Everything he bought, he gave me one and held one,” he said.
Ezekiel said he spent about a week recovering in the hospital before he was discharged and taken by Odeh to a hotel, where they stayed for another two days.
He said Odeh subsequently took him to Cross River State, where they stayed for about three months.
“After the hotel, we spent two days, and then he now took me to his state in Cross River. We spent almost like three months in Cross River,” he said.
Ezekiel said he later demanded an explanation about the money he had received, but Odeh allegedly told him that it had been exhausted.
“Before I asked him, ‘Where is the money?’ He told me that the money had finished,” he said.
He added that Odeh later claimed they lacked transportation fare to return to Abuja and allegedly sold his phone to raise money for the journey.
“Then he said that we don’t have transport for coming back. He collected my phone and sold it. Then that is how we had transport and came back to Abuja,” Ezekiel said.
Asked whether he knew beforehand that his kidney would be removed, Ezekiel acknowledged that he had been informed, but alleged that Odeh reassured him that the procedure would not have serious consequences.
“He just told me that it’s something that they will just convert it, that there’s not any issue in there, that if they convert it, I can do everything that I want to do, that I will not have any issue,” he said.
Ezekiel confirmed that he consented to the procedure, which he said was carried out at Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, on April 24.
He said he was paid in dollars but could not determine the exact amount, recalling that he received several $100 notes and one $50 note.
“It’s 100, 100 dollars with one 50 dollar,” he said when asked about the payment.
The allegations came as the Nigeria Police Force intensified investigations into an alleged organ-harvesting network operating in Abuja and Nasarawa State.
The police on Friday paraded several suspects, including two doctors and alleged recruiters, following a sting operation in the Auta Balefi area of Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Odeh was among those paraded and was accused by the police of recruiting victims for the alleged organ-harvesting network.
Others paraded included Dr. Benjamin Oyime, a nephrologist and consultant to Wellington Hospital; Dr Daniel Otukpa, also a nephrologist and Acting Director of Clinical Services at the hospital; and David Idoko.
The police alleged that the syndicate targeted vulnerable young people and facilitated illegal kidney removal through forged documents and false representations.
The Force said investigations were continuing to identify and apprehend other suspected members of the network.
The case gained public attention after activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, alleged that a young man had approached his NGO with medical evidence indicating that his left kidney was missing.
The police subsequently commenced an investigation into the allegations, culminating in the arrest and parade of the suspects.
All allegations against the suspects remain subject to investigation and due process. (EmergencyDigest.com)
