LONDON – British police on Thursday charged two Nigerians, including a politician, with mutilation under a conspiracy to bring a child to Britain.
Ike Ekweremadu, a 60-year-old district senator and lawyer, and Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 55, are accused of conspiring to arrange or facilitate another person’s travel for the purpose of “mutilation.” Of
The two suspects appeared in Oxbridge Magistrates’ Court in west London on Thursday. According to the BBC, he confirmed that he lives in Nigeria, and was detained until he appeared in court again on July 7.
A child has been taken to safety, Metropolitan Police said.
The force said detectives launched an investigation in May after being alerted to possible modern-day slavery crimes.
Ike Ekweremadu was recently made a visiting professor at Lincoln University in the north of England.
A university spokesman said visiting professors were “often, as is the case, non-resident, unpaid and consultative at the university.”
“We are deeply concerned about the nature of these allegations but as this is an active police investigation, we cannot comment further at this stage,” the spokesman said.
