Beatrice, the wife of Ike Ekweremadu, former deputy senate president, has been released from prison in the United Kingdom and has returned to Nigeria.

A family source told the BBC on Wednesday that Beatrice returned to the country three months ago.

She is said to be currently in Abuja.

It was gathered that there is jubilation currently going on in her family house in the Mpu community of Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Speaking with journalists during the community-wide celebration, the President of Mpu Town Union Federated, Mr Benjamin Chijioke, described her return as a huge relief to the entire community.

Chijioke, however, prayed to God to intervene in the case of Ekweremadu, their son so that he would also return home like his wife in good health.

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He said, “Our joy as Mpu people knows no bounds. It is a great day for us. Since morning, it has been jubilation and celebration in all the villages.

“People are shedding tears of joy especially those that were depending on the philanthropic disposition of the family to survive. Today is our Orie market day, the whole market was agog with celebration.

“We thank God and also pray that God will intervene so that our illustrious aeon and leader, Distinguished Senator Ike Ekweremadu will join his family soonest. I don’t know what to say again because their absence has brought a huge setback to the community. We missed them a lot but we thank God for everything.”

In March 2023, Ekweremadu, Beatrice, and Obinna Obeya, a medical doctor, were convicted of conspiring to traffic a young man for organ harvesting under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act of 2015.

The case marked the first conviction of its kind under the legislation.

On May 5, 2023, Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, his wife was sentenced to four years and six months, and Obeta was handed a 10-year prison term.

In his judgment, Jeremy Johnson, the trial judge, ruled Beatrice should spend half of the sentence in custody and on license for the rest of the sentence.

Johnson also held that the period spent by Beatrice in electronically monitored curfew and the remand duration should be considered when calculating the time spent in prison.

The Ekweremadus were found guilty of arranging for a young Nigerian man to travel to the UK in February 2022 with the intention of harvesting his kidney for their ailing daughter, Sonia.

The young man, who was allegedly promised work in the UK, reported the matter to the police in May 2022, stating that he was brought to the country for an organ transplant.