Organ and body part theft, by Clem Oluwole
In the wake of organ theft by medical personnel within and outside the country came the news of the disappearance of a woman’s boobs in a hall of a new generation bank located in Gwagwalada, a sprawling settlement in the Federal Capital Territory.
The man who allegedly performed the disappearing act, named Solomon, has been arrested by the police in the bustling town. According to media reports, the act was performed on the woman, identified as Janet, at about 2pm on the fateful day of October 11, this year.
Janet was said to be on a queue to deposit her cash. As those on the queue inched forward, Solomon who was right behind her leaned forward, touching her back, and the next thing, according to Janet, was the vanishing of her boobs.
The victim was said to have raised an alarm about her runaway boobs. She felt dizzy and collapsed afterwards.
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After she was revived, a female security officer was asked to move Janet to a bathroom to check herself properly. Lo and behold, the breasts had vanished. The bank’s security promptly alerted the police in Gwagwalada and Solomon was arrested. But about 20 minutes after his arrest, Janet’s breasts came back. Nevertheless, the police kept the suspect in their custody so that they could pump more information out of him to determine their next line of action.
Before the recent Gwagwalada episode, internal organ or body part theft was common among ritualists. Such organs were used to acquire powers, wealth, etc. There was a time when kidnapping was at an apogee in the Niger Delta Region; albinos were even mistaken for the white oil workers. They too were kidnapped and ritualised for money. It was believed that such whites would produce hard currencies like Dollars and Pound Sterling, in the case of Americans and Britons, respectively. If the victims were Chinese and Japanese, they would churn out Yuan and Yen, respectively.
We shall return to the issue of organ theft by spiritual means later in this piece. In recent times, theft of organs has shifted to the medical circle within and outside the country. The industry is a big, thriving one. And in high demand are kidneys. Other vital organs attracting theft are hearts, livers and lungs. Those organs eviscerated by crooked medics are not used for ritual purposes but for sale to those in need of transplantation.
The recent revelation in Jos is a case in point. A trained economist turned surgeon, named Noah Kekere, is now cooling his feet in prison for allegedly harvesting a kidney of one of his patients, named Mrs. Kehinde Kamal, under the guise of performing an appendectomy. It is an irony that a Noah is accused of such a heinous crime. He failed to live up to his name. The (Biblical) Noah before him was used to save mankind when an angry God decided to cleanse the earth reeking with all manner of iniquities.
Dr. Kekere owns the popular Murna Clinic and Maternity located in the densely populated Nasarawa community of Jos. He was not only seen as a medical practitioner but also a philanthropist par excellence. For close to two decades, his clinic was a preferred destination for many middle-level Nigerians in need of medical attention and the bills were (curiously) affordable. His unsuspecting patrons had his philanthropy to thank for that.
After about five years of recurring pains and visits to the clinic without any reprieve, Mrs. Kamal decided to go to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) for a secondary opinion. It was at the neutral health facility that she discovered to her dismay that one of her kidneys was missing upon scanning. After the alarm raised by Mrs. Kamal, about seven other folks have come up with similar accusations against Kekere.
Organ harvesting has been an organised crime across the globe. Egypt is one of the favourite medical tourism destinations of many Nigerians especially those from the North of the Niger based on some cultural and religious considerations.
In 2017, Nigerian medical tourists reportedly fell victim of this act of inhumanity perpetrated by 41 Egyptian medics as revealed by its High Commission in Abuja. Similar nefarious practices are common in other destinations like India, the United Kingdom and the United States where most Nigerians rush to at the slightest signs of ailments.
Organ theft has become a multi-billion-dollar business even in countries where harsh laws have been put in place to stem the criminal activities and those caught in the act get severe punishment. Besides those who steal organs on operating tables, there are human traffickers whose business is to ferry unsuspecting victims abroad for the purpose of having their vital organs taken out for sale.
Then, there are those who, owing to economic downturns and hardships, are willing and eager to part with their kidneys to raise cash to meet such demands like marriage expenses, family commitments, debts and escape poverty generally.
Now, let us return to organ theft by spiritual means. The incidents were prevalent in many parts of the country in the 80s and early 90. In Jos, for instance, incidents of disappearing manhood became so rampant that everyone was warned not to exchange greetings or engage in a handshake with strangers or respond when asked about the time on their wristwatches. For, the moment you respond, the manhood would just vamoose! There were no incidents of vanishing boobs.
A man narrowly escaped being roasted alive at the Farin Gada area of Jos. He was accused of stealing a man’s penis. Nobody cared to confirm the accusation by examining whether or not his third leg was in place. Irate folks just pinned down the man. They called for tyres, petrol and matches. The man protested his innocence. But the louder his plea, the more determined the executioners were to make a bonfire of him. He was lucky to be rescued by a police patrol team passing by.
I was held up at the Jos Polo Roundabout heading for Farin Gada one evening when a man was meandering through the gridlock. Hot on his chase were some young men shouting at the top of their voices. They accused him of stealing a penis. The fleeing guy bounced off the fender of my car. I panicked and quickly fiddled with my front to ensure I had not been robbed too! Everything was in place. I stepped out of my car and stretched my neck to see how the chase was progressing until the pursued and the pursuers thinned out of my sight. It was obvious that the pursued would be visited with Jedwood Justice if they eventually caught up with him. By the way, Jedwood Justice is the execution of an accused first before trial.
The Gwagwalada police should get to the bottom of the mystery of disappearing and appearing of Janet’s boobs, following her brush with Solomon named after King Solomon, famed for his love of women.
Clem Oluwole is the Managing Editor of Blueprint Newspapers in Abuja.
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