The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has confirmed the age of the alleged victim of organ harvesting, David Nwamini, as 21; contradicting the claims of prosecutors in London.
The Comptroller General of the NIS, Isah Idris Jere in a Zoom briefing with journalists, said Mr Nwanini applied for his international passport which was issued after thorough checks by the passport issuing agency.
He said the documents provided by Mr Nwamini from the National Population Commission (NPC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) gave his date of birth as October 12, 2000.
Read Also: Bakers threaten nationwide strike over rising cost of flour, sugar
He added that Mr Nwanini was captured for the international passport on November 2, 2021, at the Gwagwalada office of the agency.
He said the birth certificate issued by the National Population Commission (NPC) and the national identity number (NIN) slip presented by Ukpo indicate that he is 21.
He added that Ukpo’s date of birth was listed as October 12, 2000 — which means he will be 22 years old in October 2022.
“The facts of the matter concerning the case above, therefore, are that the said Mr. David Ukpo Nwamina applied and paid for the enhanced standard passport using the NIS portal after which he approached the Gwagwalada Passport Office, FCT Abuja, on the 2nd November 2021 for his interview.’’
“To support his application, Mr. Nwamina presented all the necessary documents required, including his National Population Commission (NPC) issued Birth Certificate, showing 12 October, 2000, as his date of birth; his National Identity Number (NIN) corroborating the date of birth on his birth certificate, issued by NIMC; a letter of introduction issued by Ebonyi State Government Liaison Office situated at Maitama District Abuja, and a Guarantor’s form duly signed by one Mr. Uchechukwu Chukwuma Ogbonno.
“In view of the above, the general public may wish to be informed that the date of birth, or any other information for that matter, on any Nigerian passport is printed on the document only after a thorough vetting process that involves both physical and forensic examination of the applicant’s breeder documents. Mr. Nwamina’s case, therefore, was not different.”
Ekweremadu and his wife were arrested by The Metropolitan Police at the Heathrow Airports for alleged human trafficking and organ harvesting on Tuesday.
They were arraigned on Thursday Uxbridge Magistrates Court, which ordered their remand in police custody until July 7.
Comments are closed.