A young Nigerian, Samuel Ezekiel, has recounted how his friend allegedly changed his identity to “Hassan Abubakar” before he underwent kidney removal at Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, Abuja.
Ezekiel also alleged that after he was paid in dollars for the procedure, he handed the money to his friend, Emmanuel Odeh, who allegedly changed the cash and spent part of it on phones, power banks and Wi-Fi devices.
He disclosed this while speaking to journalists during the Nigeria Police Force parade of suspects linked to an alleged organ-harvesting syndicate in Abuja and Nasarawa State on Friday.
Ezekiel said Odeh deceived him into going to the hospital, adding that he trusted his friend and usually followed his instructions.
He said Odeh later linked him with another man, David, who took him to an agent identified as Ben for medical tests.
According to him, his initial test results did not match those of the intended kidney recipient, but the agent later informed them that another recipient had been found.
Ezekiel said the agent subsequently told them that his kidney matched another person before he was taken to Ben’s residence.
He said Odeh then informed him that his name would be changed to Hassan Abubakar.
The victim said they were later taken to the Federal High Court, where an affidavit was prepared, before proceeding to Wellington Hospital.
He said they signed documents at the hospital before he was taken into the theatre.
According to Ezekiel, the payment was brought to them in dollars at about 10pm or 11pm before he underwent the procedure.
He said he handed the money to Odeh for safekeeping before entering the theatre.
Ezekiel alleged that when he came out of the theatre, Odeh had already changed the dollars and used part of the money to purchase electronic devices.
He said Odeh bought two phones, two power banks and two Wi-Fi devices, giving him one of each item while keeping the others.
The victim said they spent about a week at the hospital before they were discharged, after which Odeh took him to a hotel where he stayed for another two days.
