INVESTIGATION: Kidney Trade: Four Arrested, Victims Emerge As Nigeria Struggles To Track Cases
…Police probe alleged syndicate targeting vulnerable youths as Kogi monarch raises fresh alarm
Daud Olatunji
For 22-year-old Samuel Ezekiel, the promise sounded like a way out of poverty.
A message offering quick money and describing the procedure as a simple medical exercise allegedly set in motion a chain of events that ended with Ezekiel undergoing an operation in Abuja.
According to the Nigeria Police Force, Ezekiel was allegedly lured from Nasarawa State to Abuja on April 24, 2026, where one of his kidneys was allegedly removed.
Police said he was allegedly paid $1,250, equivalent to about N1.7m at the exchange rate cited by the Force.
But Ezekiel’s case is no longer being treated as an isolated allegation.
Four suspects, including two nephrologists, have been arrested by the police over an alleged organ-harvesting and human-trafficking syndicate operating between Nasarawa State and Abuja.
The development has also raised a disturbing question: How many Nigerians may have been victims of illegal organ removal without their cases ever being officially recorded?
The answer remains unclear.
Nigeria has no publicly available, comprehensive national database showing the number of people whose organs have allegedly been illegally removed for transplantation or trafficking.
Recent police investigations, however, suggest that vulnerable young people may be targeted by recruiters who exploit their financial difficulties.
Four arrested
The Nigeria Police Force said its Special Tactical Squad arrested four suspects during a sting operation in Auta Balifi, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, on August 19, 2026.
The suspects were identified as Emmanuel Ode, 23; Dr Benjamin Oyime, 48, a nephrologist; Dr Daniel Otukpa, 53, also a nephrologist; and David Idoko, 25.
According to the police, Ode allegedly admitted recruiting victims under false pretences.
The Force alleged that he lured Ezekiel to Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, Abuja, where his kidney was allegedly harvested.
Police further alleged that the suspects and their accomplices targeted vulnerable and poorly educated young people in Nasarawa State and neighbouring areas, exploiting their financial desperation.
The police also alleged that official documents, including National Identification Numbers, birth certificates, age declarations, affidavits and consent letters, were falsified to facilitate the procedures.
The suspects have not been convicted of any offence and remain entitled to due process.
