A wealthy Nigerian politician, his wife, daughter and a London man charged over an alleged organ-harvesting plot involving the Royal Free Hospital have had their trial brought forward to January next year.

Ike Ekweremadu, 60, a district senator and lawyer, and his wife, Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 56, are accused of bringing a 21-year-old man from Nigeria to the UK.

Prosecutors claim they planned to have his kidney removed so it could be given to their 25-year-old daughter Sonia, who has also now been charged.

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The man is said to have refused to consent to the procedure after undergoing tests at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead.

The alleged offence emerged after he walked into Staines police station in Surrey.

Mr and Mrs Ekweremadu, from Willesden Green, north-west London, were arrested at Heathrow Airport on June 21 after arriving on a flight from Turkey.

All three Ekweremadus and a fourth defendant, Obina Obeta, 50, from Southwark, are charged with conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view to exploitation contrary to the Criminal Law Act 1977.

The details of the charge allege that between August 1, 2021 and May 5, 2022 they conspired together and with Isaac Ekweremadu and others unknown to arrange the travel of a named man with a view to his exploitation.

On Monday, the case was brought before Judge Mark Lucraft KC for a hearing at the Old Bailey, The defendants were not asked to enter pleas and the judge brought their trial forward from May next year to January 31.

A further hearing was set for December 16.

The two women are on conditional bail and the male defendants are in custody.

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