Sonia, the 25-year-old daughter of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has appealed to the general public for a kidney donation.
The young woman, whose parents are currently facing charges of organ harvesting in the United Kingdom made the plea on her Instagram page on Monday.
This is coming barely two months after Ekweremadu and his wife were arrested for alleged conspiracy to facilitate the travel of David Ukpo, for organ harvesting for their daughter.
The couple were subsequently arraigned and tried at the Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in London.
The senator and his wife had applied for bail but were denied as the prosecutors reportedly informed the court that Ekweremadu procured a passport for the boy and claimed he was 21 years old only to discover that he was 15 years old.
In a statement shared on Instagram, Sonia revealed she was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease in 2019 and her family has done everything possible to save her life including going to various hospitals but the illness persisted and keep degenerating.
She further disclosed that she is currently in London receiving dialysis three to four times a week at the expense of her family because she is not qualified for the National Health Service due to her immigration status.
According to her, the last three years have been extremely challenging and the arrest of her parents is directly connected to her illness and has complicated the issue.
She, however, appealed to the public to willingly assist her with a kidney donation stressing that every member of her family would have donated their kidney for her, unfortunately, medical examination shows that it is a genetic cause.
She added that she would commit and dedicate herself to helping people with kidney disease, upon her full recovery.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
