Mahdi Shehu argued that ‘the UK justice system is nearly watertight,’ adding that the opportunity to free Ekweremadu was lost long ago.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Kaduna-based controversial activist and critic, Mahdi Shehu, has described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s sudden move to secure the release of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, from a UK prison as a purely political strategy.
Shehu made this assertion in a post he shared on X on Tuesday, claiming the intervention is tied to the President’s quest for re-election in 2027.
President Tinubu recently dispatched a high-level delegation to London to discuss the case of Ekweremadu, who has been jailed in the UK since March 2023. The delegation comprises Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Lateef Fagbemi, Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
Reacting to the decision, Shehu argued that Tinubu’s intervention was not driven by compassion but by political calculation.
According to the activist, the President “suddenly woke up from his diplomatic slumber” and remembered Ekweremadu, who has been imprisoned since his conviction in 2023 for organ trafficking.
ALSO READ: US-based Nigerian lawyer Ogebe faults American author’s claim on CIA Chibok girls’ rescue
He noted that “the UK justice system is nearly watertight,” arguing that “the opportunity to free Ekweremadu was lost long ago.”
Shehu further highlighted that Tinubu’s decision came despite Nigeria currently lacking a substantive ambassador to the UK, who, he suggested, could have handled the matter more effectively through regular diplomatic channels.
“The UK justice system is nearly watertight. The opportunity to resolve the Ekweremadu issue was lost long ago,” he reiterated.
Shehu explained that the only realistic option left for Nigeria was to explore a prisoner transfer agreement if such a treaty exists and has been executed between both countries.
In his view, Tinubu’s action is entirely a political calculation, not a humanitarian gesture.
“My take is that Tinubu is using the jamboree trip to show he cares and is concerned because the election is approaching and Ekweremadu is the only visible Ndi-igbo that is not on ‘THE TRAIN’ From Bombay to Goa,” he wrote. “And with him on board, Ndi-igbo will be finally captured.”
Shehu concluded by suggesting that other Nigerians convicted or detained abroad will not receive the same attention because they “will be of no political value to Tinubu. Such is the visible miscalculation.”
