Former Deputy Senate President of Nigeria, Ike Ekweremadu, has been sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison by the Central Criminal Court in Old Bailey, UK, for organ harvesting.

Ekweremadu’s wife, Beatrice, was also handed a jail term of four years and six months. The sentencing, which took place on Friday, is the first of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 of the UK.

The couple was convicted of conspiring to bring a 21-year-old Nigerian to London for the purpose of exploiting his kidney, with Obinna Obeta acting as the middleman.

According to BBC, the victim was a poor street trader in Nigeria who was promised a better life and up to £7,000 in exchange for his kidney. Once in the UK, the man was coached to give false answers to doctors at the Royal Free Hospital. However, the procedure was cancelled when the man was deemed unsuitable for donation.

Prosecutor Hugh Davies KC said, “There are, however, certain things that money and status cannot guarantee in any family and they include good health.” Sonia, Ekweremadu’s wife, needed a kidney transplant to cure her deteriorating kidney condition.

During the trial, Ekweremadu claimed that he had “limited intelligence,” so he did not consult Sonia’s specialist about whether a family member could donate a kidney. The prosecutor, however, rejected the claim and said, “Far better to buy one and let the medical risk go to someone you don’t know.”

Joanne Jakymec, Chief Crown Prosecutor, described the case as a “horrific plot to exploit a vulnerable victim by trafficking him to the UK for the purpose of transplanting his kidney.”

She added that the defendants showed “utter disregard for the victim’s welfare, health, and well-being and used their considerable influence to a high degree of control throughout, with the victim having limited understanding of what was really going on here.”

The couple, along with medical “middleman” Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, were found guilty in the Old Bailey in March.