Men belonging to the ONELGA OSPAC vigilance group in Rivers State have apprehended Ejike Wilson, a father, and two pastors in connection with a grim incident involving the death of his 24-year-old disabled son, Lucky Wilson, in the Port Harcourt area of the state. The young man reportedly lost his life following a surgical procedure aimed at removing his hunchback, with the intention of selling it to suspected organ traffickers.
A representative from the Planning and Advisory Committee of OSPAC, codenamed OSPAC, confirmed the incident to Punch on Sunday, September 10, 2023. The suspects were apprehended while trying to flee Port Harcourt.
According to one of the suspects, Olatoye Olawale, a 54-year-old pastor of a new generation church near Omoku in the state, Lucky was handed over to him by Ejike Wilson and Ejike’s younger brother, Pastor Paul Osiagor Wilson. Olatoye disclosed that the family sought a surgical procedure to extract ‘mercury’ from Lucky’s hunchback, with chilling implications of organ trafficking.
Olatoye recounted the shocking details: “Paul said his brother (Ejike) had a son who had a hunchback which he was planning to do away with. I asked him why, and he said the boy was a thief; the boy was this and that. He said when the boy was much younger, the father attempted to sell him, but it didn’t work out well. He asked whether I knew the people who could take up the boy. I told him that I would make inquiries.”
The suspect further explained the sequence of events, stating that they all agreed to the surgical procedure and contacted an associate said to be in Abeokuta, Ogun State, who promised to pay N10 million for the ‘mercury’ from the victim’s hunchback.
“The boy in question (Lucky) even came to meet me, begging me that if the hunchback could be removed, I should help him. He said he wanted to be like a normal human being. I told them that he might not survive the procedure, but he said he would survive it. That was when we fixed a date for us to travel for the procedure.”
“My first contact was an NGO in Owerri, Imo State, which said they would extract the ‘mercury’ and pay us N5 million. I asked him what would be our own percentage. At last, both Paul and Ejike accepted the N5 million offer, but the NGO didn’t show up again.”
The suspect’s account of events continued as he described their dealings with another contact in Abeokuta, Ogun State, who agreed to pay N10 million, with the payment spread over two or three months.
The victim’s father, Ejike, was actively involved and persistent in this operation. “The day we traveled for the surgery in Lagos before heading to Abeokuta, Ejike handed over the boy to me, and Paul gave me N15,000 for transportation. At the hospital, I called the father because of the document we were to sign, but he told me to go ahead and sign on his behalf. The operation was carried out, but in the end, the boy couldn’t make it,” Olatoye added.
Paul Wilson, Ejike’s brother, expressed sorrow over the incident but denied direct involvement, asserting that he merely introduced Olatoye to his brother. He refuted claims of providing transportation to the suspects.
OSPAC Commander Felix Nwobakata, speaking through his media aide, Obed Douglas, emphasized the significance of these arrests as a deterrent against involvement in ritualistic activities. All three suspects have been handed over to the Assistant Inspector General, Monitoring Unit, Zone 16, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, for further investigation and prosecution.
