How friend deceived me to sell my kidney — Victim

ABUJA — A young Nigerian, Samuel Ezekiel, has alleged that his friend, Emmanuel Udeh, deceived him into undergoing kidney removal at Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, Abuja, after arranging for his identity to be changed to “Hassan Abubakar”.

Ezekiel made the allegation while speaking with journalists during the Nigeria Police Force parade of suspects linked to an alleged organ-harvesting syndicate operating in Abuja and Nasarawa State.

Ezekiel said Udeh initially told him they were going to a hospital and that, because he trusted his friend, he followed his instructions.

“It’s my friend that deceived me. His name is Emmanuel Udeh,” Ezekiel said.

“He deceived me that we are going to the hospital because I don’t know what—because of anything he told me, I will just, uh, do what he asked me to do,” he added.

According to him, Udeh later introduced him to a man identified as David, who took him to an agent, Ben, for medical tests.

He said the first test did not match the intended kidney recipient, but the agent later told him another recipient had been found and that his kidney matched the person.

Ezekiel said he was subsequently informed that his identity would be changed.

“Then he now said that they are going to change my name, that I will be bearing Hassan Abubakar,” he said.

He said they were taken to the Federal High Court, where an affidavit was prepared before they proceeded 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.

Ezekiel said documents were signed at the hospital before he was taken into the theatre.

According to him, money was brought to them at about 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. before the procedure.

“After we sign, then later in the night around 10:00 to 11:00, they now come and give us, uh, money in dollars.

“After they give us the money, then when I wanted to enter the theater, I gave Emmanuel the money to hold it,” he said.

He alleged that after the operation, Udeh had changed the dollars and spent part of the money on electronic devices.

“After I gave him the money, when I came out from the theater, then later in the evening, Emmanuel came back. He had already gone and changed the money,” he said.

“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,” Ezekiel added.

The victim said they spent almost a week at the hospital before they were discharged, after which Udeh took him to a hotel for two days.

He said Udeh later 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 eventually asked Udeh about the money but was told it had been spent.

“Before I asked him, ‘Where is the money?’ He told me that the money had finished,” he said.

He further alleged that Udeh later said they had no money for transportation back to Abuja, adding that his phone was sold to raise the fare.

“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,” he said.

Asked whether he knew his kidney would be removed, Ezekiel said he had been informed but claimed Udeh reassured him that the procedure would not cause problems.

“He just told me that it’s something that they will just, uh, 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 took place at Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, on April 24.

He said he was paid in dollars but could not state the exact amount, recalling that he received several 100-dollar notes and one 50-dollar note.

Asked about the amount, he said: “It’s 100, 100 dollars with one 50 dollar.”

The account came as police intensified investigations into an alleged organ-harvesting network operating around Abuja and Nasarawa State. The Force on Friday paraded suspects following a sting operation in Auta Balefi, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

Among those paraded were 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; Udeh 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 arrest other members of the alleged network.

The case came to public attention after activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, said a young man had approached his NGO with medical evidence indicating that his left kidney was missing.

The police subsequently commenced investigations, leading to the arrest and parade of the suspects. The allegations remain subject to investigation, and the suspects are presumed innocent unless proved guilty by a court.