Sonia, 25, the daughter of imprisoned ex-Deputy Senate President Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has admitted that she felt remorseful that her parents were found guilty as a result of her.Ekweremadu, 60, and his wife Beatrice, 56, were found guilty of conspiring to illegally remove David Nwamini’s kidney and received sentences of nine years, eight months and four years, six months in jail, respectively. Dr. Obinna Obeta, a physician and the third conspirator, was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Nwamini has stated that he is unsure about his safety if he returns to Nigeria and would prefer to stay and work there. Sonia said in a BBC interview that, despite understanding the court’s decision, she disagreed with it. She also acknowledged that her stance might be biased given that she is the senator’s daughter. Sonia apologized to her family for everything they had to endure for her cause and said she didn’t hold anything against Nwamini, adding that she wished him well.
“It’s been really hard to really wrap my head around it. I understand the conviction, but personally, I disagree with it. However, that’s from a very biased perspective as their daughter and I would obviously always back my parents.“However, the law has taken its course and we just have to move forward as a family,” she said during the interview.Sonia also took time to explain why it was difficult to get a donor from her own family, disclosing that there’s a particular gene in the family that would make that almost impossible.
“My condition is called nephritic syndrome. Basically, my kidneys are small and they have loads of big holes in them. Either I stay on dialysis for the rest of my life, or I get a transplant. These are my two options.
“I have the APO-1 gene. So, to us, that kind of excluded the family, especially on my dad’s side, because they have quite a history of kidney conditions,” she said.
Sonia added that it was in August of 2021 when she found out that there was a possibility that she would need a transplant that her family started reaching out to people.
However, she noted that she was not directly involved in the negotiations, which were handled by her family. She also declined to answer a question on whether she knew Nwamini as a cousin of hers.
“I wasn’t involved at all. It was mostly my family that handled everything to do with my medical side. I mean, I was aware that someone did come forward. He had just come over to the UK, I believe with my uncle and my mom, and I wanted to thank him for that. And the picture (shown) was basically for memories.
“I wouldn’t say it’s an involvement. They just wanted me to see the progress that had been made,” she pointed out.
While hoping that she would be able to get a transplant soon, Sonia who also responded to how she felt towards Nwamini, stressed that she felt nothing towards him. “I don’t feel anything towards him. I wish him all the best,” she posited.
She also apologised for making her family go through such a tortuous experience, saying that life may never be the same again.“I want to use this opportunity to apologise to them (my family) for the way everything has played out,” she added.“Life is just so dynamic. Like you’re one day in your house chilling and the next day, your whole life is turned around, upside down. I don’t think it will ever be the same again. And obviously, I feel guilty because I feel like all these have happened because of me,” Sonia said.
