A young Nigerian, Samuel Ezekiel, has recounted how his friend, Emmanuel Odeh, allegedly deceived him into undergoing kidney removal at Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, Abuja.
Ezekiel said Odeh told him they were going to the hospital and later linked him with a man identified as David, who took him to an agent, Ben, for medical tests.
After his first test did not match the intended recipient, Ezekiel said the agent later told them another recipient had been found.
He alleged that Odeh then told him his name would be changed to “Hassan Abubakar” before they went to the Federal High Court to prepare an affidavit.
“Then he now said that they are going to change my name, that I will be bearing Hassan Abubakar.”
Ezekiel said they later went to Wellington Hospital, where they signed documents before he was taken into the theatre.
He said money in dollars was given to them around 10pm or 11pm. He handed the money to Odeh for safekeeping before the procedure.
“After I gave him the money, when I came out from the theater, then later in the evening, Emmanuel came back. He had already gone and changed the money,” he said.
According to Ezekiel, Odeh bought two phones, two power banks and two Wi-Fi devices with part of the money, giving him one of each.
The pair reportedly stayed in the hospital for about a week before Odeh took Ezekiel to a hotel for two days and later to Cross River State, where they stayed for about three months.
When Ezekiel asked about his money, he said Odeh told him it was finished. He also alleged that Odeh sold his phone to raise transport fare back to Abuja.
Ezekiel said he knew his kidney would be removed but claimed Odeh assured him there would be no problems afterward.
He confirmed consenting to the procedure, which he said took place on April 24.
His account came as the police investigated an alleged organ-harvesting network operating in Abuja and Nasarawa State.
The police on Friday paraded Odeh, two nephrologists, Dr Benjamin Oyime and Dr Daniel Otukpa, and David Idoko.
The Force alleged that the syndicate targeted vulnerable young people and used forged documents and false claims to facilitate illegal kidney removal.
The investigation followed claims by activist Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, that a young man approached his NGO with medical evidence showing his left kidney was missing.
Police said investigations were ongoing to identify and arrest other alleged members of the network.
