Sonia, the daughter of Ike Ekweremadu, Nigeria’s former deputy Senate president, has made a public appeal for kidney donation. The lawmaker’s daughter appealed in an Instagram post on Monday, September 12.
Sonia’s appeal comes amid the ordeal her parents are facing in the quest to save her. Senator Ekweremadu and his wife were arrested in June when they tried to get a kidney donor for the 25-year-old Sonia in the United Kingdom.
UK prosecutors had arraigned the couple in court over alleged trafficking and an attempt to harvest the organs of an underage. While Beatrice, the lawmaker’s wife, was later granted bail, he is currently in custody pending October when his case would be heard.
In the Instagram post on Monday, Sonia asked members of the public to assist her with kidney donation. She gave details of her ailment, noting that he was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease, FSGS, in 2019.
Her words: “I, Sonia Ekweremadu, hereby appeal to the general public to come to my aid and save my life. I am 25 years old and a graduate of Media and Communications, University of Coventry. I dropped out of my post-graduate studies at the University of Newcastle in 2019 when I was diagnosed with rare kidney disease, FSGS.
“Nephrotic Syndrome. My family has battled to save my life and has taken me to various hospitals, but the illness persisted and kept degenerating. I am alive today by the special grace of God. I am presently in London, UK, receiving 5 Hours of dialysis 3-4 times a week. This is at the expense of my family as I am not qualified for NHS due to my immigration status.
“The last 3 years have been extremely challenging. The charges being faced by my parents in London presently, are directly connected to my illness and have complicated matters for me and my family.
“I do not intend to delve into details of this unfortunate development as the matter is still in Court. I am however optimistic that the truth will prevail and it will end in praise to God. In the circumstance above, I am appealing to anybody whom it may please to assist me willingly with a kidney donation in the name of God.”
Sonia said further that she would not have had any cause to beg the public as her family members were willing to help her.
However, medical examinations reveal that the disease is genetic and will likely reoccur if she gets a kidney from any of her family members.
She wrote: “This appeal would have been utterly unnecessary as every member of my family is eager to donate their kidney to me, knowing that I would do the same for any of them. Regrettably, a comprehensive medical examination showed that my case of nephrotic syndrome is a genetic illness and the doctors advised against donation from any of my family members, as it would likely reoccur.
“Anybody that is moved by this appeal and wishes to donate his or her kidney to me may send an email to helpsonialive@gmail.com and include his or her name, phone number, email address and place of residence.
“Please, note that under the laws of England and Wales, organ donation must be purely driven by compassion and therefore no reward is involved. Finally, I have decided to commit and dedicate myself to helping people with the challenges of kidney disease, upon my full recovery. Thank you and God bless you.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, August 16, the British High Commission said it won’t comment on the alleged organ harvesting case involving Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice.
When asked about the possible immunity for Ekweremadu and the probability of a transfer of the case from the Central Criminal Court in the United Kingdom to Nigeria, the Head of Political Section at the British High Commission in Abuja, Aneesah Islam, stated: “The British Government and therefore, in this instance, the British High Commission in Abuja do not comment on ongoing legal matters.”
