Ekweremadu: Waiting continues as jury sent home for the second day
Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Beatrice, his wife, Sonia, their daughter and Dr Obinna Obeta, will have to endure at least another day of tense waiting till today to know the outcome of their ongoing conspiracy to facilitate and arrange travel with the aim of exploitation trial.
Reason being that the jury was sent home for the second day just before 1:00pm on Tuesday. This was to allow Sonia keep her regular Tuesday afternoon dialysis session at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, where she’s receiving treatment for her kidney condition.
Before sending the seven women and five men jurors home for the second day, they were asked back into the courtroom from the jury room. The judge then said to them, “no more deliberations for today. Stop deliberating for today. No more thinking about it,” and “do not discuss it with anyone.” He urged them to “enjoy your afternoon and come back tomorrow ” morning to continue.
However, prior to being discharged, the Court had reconvened for less than five minutes after they were sworn back to work in the morning. This was because they sent a note to the judge, asking for clarification on the charge.
He read out relevant aspects to the judicial guidelines, saying: “your route to verdict ” is that they -jurors-are satisfied that there is a conspiracy between two or more of the defendants” to facilitate and bring David to the UK and “offered reward in exchange for donating” his kidney.
He went further and explained the two elements of the charge to them, emphasising that the conspiracy doesn’t have to involve all the four defendants, “if they’ve agreed with at least one other person” for the same purpose of offering compensation to Nwamini for donating their kidney.
The judge also noted that “the agreement do not have to be with a defendant. It can be with Diwe or David Nwamini” himself or with anyone not part of the trial.
On Monday when they were sent out, the judge told them “when you reach unanimous verdicts on each of the defendants, you’ll then come back.”
ond time in February of last year to thank him for wanting to donate his kidney to her, an agitated Mrs. Ekweremadu responded and told the prosecutor, “if it – the meeting- did not happen, let me not reach my house when I’m going home.”
The prosecution will start their closing speech today.
Earlier in the testimony, Patterson, in trying to establish the prosecution’s conspiracy, cited a November 1st 2021 message that her former Deputy Senate President husband had forwarded to her. She then asked Mrs Ekweremadu “what do you think that message- about cost of hotel accommodation- was about?” Ekweremadu told her: ”it’s self-explanatory,” and that it was about “people coming up to be tested “ to determine if they matched Sonia’s situation.
When the junior prosecutor said it was payment and reward, the Senator’s wife disagreed. According to her: ”somebody coming to help you should not use their money.” When asked why she responded to her husband’s message, she told the barrister, “I didn’t know it would come to this.” Patterson continued and also asked “why didn’t you ask what the payment was about?”
Mrs Ekweremadu, whose three other children were watching from the public gallery -and Sonia in the dock – responded and said “I trust his sense of judgment. My husband is a good man and I’ve come to trust him.”
