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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Abuja division of the Federal High Court has ordered the National Identification Management Commission NIMC to immediately release bio-data of David Ukpo to the Attorney General of the Federation AGF, for onward transmission to the United Kingdom Court.
Justice Inyang Ekwo issued the order sequel to a request to that effect by the Commission, and in response to the request of the detained former Senate deputy president, Ike Ekweremadu, to defend himself in a London court.
Although the court had, on July 1, issued an order that the four respondents sued by Ekweremadu release details of David Ukpo to him and his detained wife, Beatrice, NIMC did not obey the order.
At yesterday’s proceedings, NIMC, represented by Mr Muazu Mohammed, informed Justice Ekwo that his client could not obey the order of the court because it was not served with hearing notice before the order was issued against it. Mohammed, who earlier asked for revocation of the order, later amended his motion on notice.
In place of revocation of the order, the counsel requested that his client be directed to submit information on David Ukpo to the AGF, instead of Ekweremadu, for onward transmission to the United Kingdom court detaining the Nigerian senator.
The request was not opposed by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, who stood for Ekweremadu.
Justice Ekwo subsequently granted the request and ordered NIMC to submit the biodata to the AGF for onward transmission to the London court
The London Metropolitan Police had arrested and charged Ekweremadu and his wife to court, for allegedly bringing a child (Ukpo) to the United Kingdom for organ harvesting.
Though the UK police alleged that Ukpo was 15 years old, personal details on both his International Passport and Bank Verification Number (BVN0, revealed that he is about 21 years old.
However, the former senate president and his wife, who are still in detention in the UK, through their lawyers, approached the court in Nigeria, praying it to order NIMC to supply them with CTC of Ukpo’s biodata.
Other defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/984/2022 were the Comptroller General of the NIS, Stanbic-IBTC Bank, United Bank of Africa, and Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc.The applicants maintained that Ukpo’s National Identification Number (NIN), with No:19438077110, which is in the possession of NIMC, should be produced for the purpose of facilitating the criminal investigation as well as tendering same to establish their innocence, with respect to the age of the alleged victim, in the criminal charge against them before the Uxbridge Magistrate Court.
