Senator Ike Ekweremadu has been denied bail following his arrest over alleged organ harvesting.

Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice were arrested in the UK weeks ago for plotting to traffic a homeless man into the UK to harvest a kidney for their daughter.

Mrs Ekweremadu, 55, together with her husband Ike Ekweremadu, 60, allegedly trafficked the 21-year-old to London from the streets of Lagos in order to harvest his organ.

Ike, a barrister and former deputy president of the Nigerian Senate, and Beatrice, an accountant, appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday for a bail hearing.

The Common Serjeant of London, Judge Richard Marks, said: ‘The position is that I have granted bail to Beatrice subject to some fairly stringent conditions but I have refused bail to Ike.’

Prosecutors are not appealing the decision, the court heard. Prosecutor Tim Probert-Wood said previously that the case involved ‘exploitation and the harvesting of an organ.’