How my friend tricked me into selling my kidney and used the money for phones

A young Nigerian, Samuel Ezekiel, has shared how his friend changed his name to "Hassan Abubakar" before he had a kidney removed at Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, Abuja.

Ezekiel claimed that after he was paid in dollars for the surgery, he gave the money to his friend, Emmanuel Odeh. Odeh is said to have changed the cash and spent part of it on phones, power banks, and Wi-Fi devices.

He told reporters during a parade by the Nigeria Police Force of suspects linked to an organ-harvesting group in Abuja and Nasarawa State on Friday.

Ezekiel said Odeh first told him they were going to the hospital. He trusted his friend enough to follow his orders.

"It’s my friend that deceived me. His name is Emmanuel Udeh," Ezekiel said.

He continued, "He deceived me that we are going to the hospital because I don’t know what... because of anything he told me, I will just, uh, do what he asked me to do."

According to him, Odeh later introduced him to another man named David, who took him to an agent called Ben for medical tests.

Ezekiel mentioned that after his initial test results did not match those of the intended kidney recipient, the agent told them that another recipient had been found.

He said the agent later informed them that his kidney matched another person’s. After that, he was taken to Ben’s place.

He shared, "Then he now said that they are going to change my name, that I will be bearing Hassan Abubakar."

Ezekiel said they were later taken to the Federal High Court, where an affidavit was prepared before they went to Wellington Hospital.

"Then from there, they now took us to the Federal High Court, where they did the affidavit. Then from there, we now went to the hospital, Wellington Clinic," he explained.

He said they signed documents at the hospital before he was taken into the theater.

According to Ezekiel, the money was given to them around 10pm or 11pm before he entered the theater.

"After we sign, then later in the night around 10:00 to 11:00, they now come and give us, uh, money in dollars."

"After they give us the money, then when I wanted to enter the theater, I gave Emmanuel the money to hold it," he added.

Ezekiel claimed that after he came out of the theater, Odeh had already changed the money and spent part of it on electronics.

"After I gave him the money, when I came out from the theater, then later in the evening, Emmanuel came back. He had already gone and changed the money," he said.

He said Odeh bought two phones, two power banks, and two Wi-Fi devices.

"He bought two phones, two power banks, and two Wi-Fi. Then he now gave me one and held one. Everything he bought, he gave me one and held one," Ezekiel said.

The victim said they stayed in the hospital for about a week before they were discharged. After that, Odeh took him to a hotel for two days.

"Then we spent almost one week in the hospital. After they discharged us from the hospital, then they took us, then Emmanuel now took me to a hotel for two days," he recounted.

Ezekiel said Odeh later took him to Cross River State, where they stayed for about three months.

"After the hotel, we spent two days, and then he now took me to his state in Cross River. We spent almost like three months in Cross River," he said.

He shared that he eventually asked Odeh about the money he received but was told it had been spent.

"Before I asked him, 'Where is the money?' He told me that the money had finished," Ezekiel said.

He added that Odeh later claimed they did not have money for transport back to Abuja.

"Then he said that we don’t have transport for coming back. He collected my phone and sold it. Then that is how we had transport and came back to Abuja," he said.

When asked if he knew his kidney would be removed, Ezekiel said he had been informed but claimed that Odeh assured him the procedure would not cause problems.

"He just told me that it’s something that they will just, uh, convert it, that there’s not any issue in there, that if they convert it, I can do everything that I want to do, that I will not have any issue," he said.

Ezekiel confirmed that he agreed to the procedure, which took place at Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, on April 24.

He said he was paid in dollars but could not recall the exact amount, remembering that he received several $100 notes and a $50 note.

When asked about the total, he said, "It’s 100, 100 dollars with one 50 dollar."

However, he could not state the exact amount he received.

The police are investigating an alleged organ-harvesting network around Abuja and Nasarawa State.

On Friday, they paraded suspects, including two doctors and alleged recruiters, after a sting operation in the Auta Balefi area of Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

The police named Odeh as one of the suspects, saying he recruited victims for the organ-harvesting network.

Also paraded were Dr. Benjamin Oyime, a nephrologist and consultant at Wellington Hospital; Dr. Daniel Otukpa, also a nephrologist and Acting Director of Clinical Services at the hospital; and David Idoko.

The police claimed the group targeted vulnerable young people and facilitated illegal kidney removal using fake documents and false claims.

The police said they are still investigating to find and arrest more members of the alleged network.

This case became known after activist Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, said a young man came to his NGO with medical proof showing that his left kidney was missing.

Following this, the police started investigations into the claims, leading to the arrest and parade of suspects.