“False Affidavits Used To Rewrite Identities For Alleged Organ Harvesting” — Police Probe Lawyers, Doctors Over Abuja-Nasarawa Network

*As Abuja Hospital Says Documents Came From A Lawyer And Appeared Authentic

Sworn affidavits deposed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, were allegedly used to rewrite the identities of young men recruited into an organ harvesting network operating between the Federal Capital Territory and Nasarawa State, according to victims’ accounts and police investigators.

The allegation places the legal profession at the centre of a criminal investigation that has so far produced arrests, the identification of two medical doctors as alleged syndicate figures, and questions about how court-issued documents came to serve as the paperwork of an illegal trade.

The Affidavit As An Instrument

Police investigators say the syndicate followed a consistent pattern. Young men were recruited, persuaded to alter their identities, including their names, National Identification Numbers and other personal details, through sworn affidavits, and then taken for surgery.

One of the alleged victims, 22-year-old Samuel Ezekiel, said the process began with a trip to court.

“They took us to the Federal High Court, where they did the affidavit. From there we went to the hospital,” he said. “We signed at the hospital in the night. After we signed, they came and gave us money in dollars.”

Ezekiel said he was introduced to the arrangement by a friend and alleged agent of the syndicate, Emmanuel Odi, and was promised about ₦1.7 million for a kidney.

He said the money was handed to Odi to hold while he went into the theatre. “When I came out of the theatre, Emmanuel had already changed the money. He bought two phones, two power banks and two Wi-Fi devices. He gave me one of each.”

After roughly a week in hospital, he said he was moved to a hotel for two days and then to Cross River State, where he remained for about three months. “When I asked him where the money was, he told me the money had finished. Then he said we did not have transport to come back. He collected my phone and sold it. That is how I got transport and came back to Abuja.”

Asked why he was moved out of Abuja, he said the instruction came from the agent at the hospital: “So that we won’t expose ourselves. That is the language he used.”

On what drew him in, he said: “They tell you initially that it is to save a life. Then when you no longer agree, they add some money so that you can help yourself.”

A Second Account

The Nyanya–Mararaba corridor, a major link between Abuja and its neighbouring communities, is described by investigators as a hotspot for the alleged network, which is said to target teenagers, adolescents and young adults.

Another alleged victim, Zulkifilu Abdulkadiri, a carpenter, said he was lured about two years ago by a relative with a promise of assistance.

“He told me to go and get something in Abuja. I came to my aunt’s family house and waited for a call. When the call came, I was instructed to meet some people in Mararaba. I went there, and while lying on the bed, I was injected,” he said. “After that I was barely conscious. I was without my full senses for about two days.”

He said he was given ₦50,000 initially and about ₦2 million later, and woke to discover that one of his kidneys had been removed. He claims several young people in communities along the Karu–Keffi corridor have undergone similar procedures, and alleges that some private hospitals in Abuja were used.

Asked what pushed him into it, he said: “It is because of condition. I have a family. I don’t know how to feed my family.”

The mother of one of the young men said the family learnt of the surgery only afterwards. “My son asked me, ‘Mummy, if somebody has one kidney, can he still give birth?’ I told him I knew a safety officer living close to us with one kidney who is a family man,” she said. “Later I heard from friends that this was what had happened. It broke my heart as a mother, because we did not know about it. That is not what we wished for our son.”

Those Named In The Investigation

Police have identified Dr Benjamin Oime, described as a consultant nephrologist, as the alleged leader of one of the syndicates. Another suspect, Dr Dania Otokpa, is alleged to be connected to Wellington Hospital, Abuja, which police describe as an outsourcing facility for some of the operations.

Emmanuel Odi is named by Ezekiel as the agent who recruited him. Abdulkadiri names a relative, said to be from Bauchi State, as the person who lured him to Mararaba.

Investigators also disclosed that a man treated as a victim in 2022 is now being treated as a suspect, allegedly having moved from donor to recruiter.

The Hospital’s Position