Prominent social critic, Mahdi Shehu, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of playing politics with the plight of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who is serving a jail term in the United Kingdom.
Shehu, in a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, alleged that the President’s recent move to secure Ekweremadu’s release is not driven by compassion but by a calculated bid to win political favour ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said Tinubu’s sudden decision to establish a “high-powered committee” to engage British authorities over the lawmaker’s conviction was “a political strategy, not a humanitarian gesture.”
“Tinubu suddenly woke up from his diplomatic slumber and remembered Ekweremadu because the election is approaching,” Shehu wrote.
“Ekweremadu is the only visible Ndi-Igbo leader who is not yet on the train. With him on board, Ndi-Igbo will be finally captured.”
The activist argued that Nigeria’s lack of a substantive ambassador to the UK makes Tinubu’s move even more questionable, suggesting that the matter could have been better handled through normal diplomatic channels.
“The UK justice system is nearly watertight. The opportunity to resolve the Ekweremadu issue was lost long ago,” he added, noting that the only realistic path now is through a prisoner transfer agreement—if such a treaty exists between both nations.
Shehu further claimed that other Nigerians imprisoned abroad would never receive the same attention because they hold no political value for the President.
Ekweremadu, a long-serving senator and one-time Deputy Senate President, was sentenced in 2023 alongside his wife and a medical doctor after being found guilty of organ trafficking in the UK.
While the Nigerian government’s renewed interest in his case has stirred diplomatic discussions, critics like Shehu insist it is nothing more than a strategic move to court political support in the South-East as the 2027 elections draw near.
