The ailing daughter of the detained former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu,
Sonia Ekweremadu, has appealed to members of the public to donate a kidney to save her life.
Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, were arrested by the Specialist Crime Team of the Metropolitan Police in London, United Kingdom, for bringing a child into the country to allegedly harvest his organs.
They were arrested in June 2022 at the Heathrow Airport in London and arraigned before a UK Magistrate’s Court.
While Ekweremadu’s wife was granted bail by a criminal court in London, the Senator was denied the same and had been in the custody of UK authorities since June 23.
Ekweremadu had spent no fewer than 82 days in prison custody since his arrest in the UK. The case against him was recently adjourned till October 31, 2022.
However, as the politician continues to languish in prison, his ailing daughter, who expressed worry over her father’s health, in an emotional post on Instagram on Monday, appealed to members of the public to save her with a kidney donation.
Chronicling her ordeal using her Instagram handle, @soniaekw, Sonia, a graduate of Media and Communications, University of Coventry, said she dropped out of postgraduate studies after she was diagnosed with rare kidney disease.
In the statement titled, “Appeal for Kidney Donation by Sonia Ekweremadu,” the 25-year-old wrote, “I, Sonia Ekweremadu, hereby appeal to the general public to come to my aid and save my life. I was diagnosed with rare kidney disease, FSGS Nephrotic Syndrome.
“My family has battled to save my life and has taken me to various hospitals but the illness persisted and kept degenerating. I am alive today by the special grace of God. I am presently in London, UK, receiving five hours of dialysis 3-4 times a week. This is at the expense of my family as I am not qualified for the NHS due to my immigration status.
“The last three years have been extremely challenging. The charges being faced by my parents in London presently are directly connected to my illness and have complicated matters for me and my family.
“I do not intend to delve into details of this unfortunate development as the matter is still in court. I am however optimistic that the truth will prevail and it will end in praise to God. In the circumstance above, I am appealing to anybody whom it may please to assist me willingly with a kidney donation in the name of God.”
Sonia, who said her family members were eager to donate their kidneys knowing that she would do the same for them, explained that a comprehensive medical examination had shown that her case of nephrotic syndrome was a genetic illness and doctors advised against donation from any of her family members, noting that it would likely reoccur.
She said, “In the time that my father has been incarcerated, he has been diagnosed with acute kidney damage. Anybody that is moved by this appeal and wishes to donate his or her kidney to me may send an email to helpsonialive@gmail.com and include his or her name, phone number, email address and place of residence.
“Please, note that under the laws of England and Wales, organ donation must be purely driven by compassion and therefore no reward is involved.
“Finally, I have decided to commit and dedicate myself to helping people with the challenges of kidney disease, upon my full recovery. Thank you and God bless you.”
