Delta monarch hails Obasanjo’s leniency plea for Ekweremadus

The immediate past Chairman of Delta State Traditional Rulers Council, Dr. Emmanuel Efeizomor II, has hailed former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s leniency plea for the embattled Ekweremadus.

The monarch, who is the Obi of Owa Kingdom, said Obasanjo’s letter to the Chief Clerk in London seeking to mitigate the sentence slammed on former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, following their conviction on charges of organ harvesting by a British court was a right step in right direction.

The traditional ruler, who spoke while reacting to the development, said the letter and intervention by Obasanjo was not only timely and apt but also commendable.

He described the move by Obasanjo as the hallmark of an elder statesman whose voice is always considered on national and international issues. He maintained that the character attestation of Senator Ekweremadu in Obasanjo’s letter was an open endorsement and validation of the personality of the former Deputy Senate President and serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“I want to appreciate the former President for his initiative to intervene on behalf of Ekweremadus. I think it is a bold and wise step worthy of commendation. It is my view that other eminent Nigerians to take a cue and lend their voices on the matter,’’ he said.

The monarch urged the Chief Clerk of the British court to temper justice with mercy on compassionate grounds, considering the fact that their daughter’s health condition had continued to deteriorate with no help in sight.

He also appealed to the Federal Government to urgently step into the matter by exploring diplomatic vehicles to show sympathetic attitude for the Ekweremadus.