Wellington Clinics suspend kidney transplants amid organ harvesting controversy

Wednesday, September 2, 2026 - Wellington Clinics, Abuja, has denied involvement in alleged transactional organ harvesting linked to a kidney transplant performed at its facility, saying it neither participated in nor benefited from any financial arrangement involving the donor or recipient.

The hospital also disclosed that it had suspended all renal transplant-related services pending the conclusion of investigations into the circumstances surrounding the April 24, 2026, kidney operation.

The clarification came amid an ongoing investigation by the Nigeria Police Force into an alleged organ-harvesting and human-trafficking syndicate in Abuja and Nasarawa State.

Police recently arrested and paraded four suspects, including two medical doctors linked to Wellington Hospital, over allegations that a 22-year-old man, identified by the police as Samuel Ezekiel, was deceived into undergoing kidney removal at the Abuja facility.

Police alleged that the victim was paid $1,250, approximately N1.7m, for the kidney.

Wellington Clinics, however, said its records showed that the donor was admitted under the name Abubakar Hassan and that the procedure was conducted by a specialist team led by Dr Benjamin Friday Oyimeh, a Senior Consultant Nephrologist and Chief Executive Officer of Crown Medical and Kidney Centre.

In a statement signed by its Director of Administration, Yemi Olatunbosun, and made available to journalists on Tuesday, the hospital said its involvement was limited to providing an equipped operating theatre and an appropriate environment for the procedure under a pre-agreed facility rental arrangement.

The clinic stated, “Wellington Clinics did not participate, facilitate, negotiate, or benefit from any transactional arrangements.”

It added that the procedure was carried out under the supervision of a licensed senior consultant nephrologist and that the specialist team retained responsibility for the donor and recipient throughout the process.

According to the hospital, its collaboration model with specialist medical teams means that the lead consultant is responsible for patient recruitment, clinical evaluation, donor-recipient compatibility assessment, informed consent, ethical screening and other clinical and medico-legal matters.

The clinic said the consultant and his team were also responsible for ensuring compliance with the National Health Act 2014 and applicable guidelines of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

Wellington said the donor was admitted on April 24, 2026, as a scheduled kidney donor and underwent a left donor nephrectomy the same day.

The kidney, it said, was subsequently transplanted into a patient suffering from end-stage kidney failure.

The facility stressed that neither the donor nor recipient died as a result of the operation.

The hospital said the donor presented several documents during admission, including a court affidavit, digital National Identification Number slip, birth certificate issued by the National Population Commission, affidavit of consent and statutory declaration of age.

It added that the donor was accompanied by a man identified as Abubakar Isa, who was presented as his brother.

According to the statement, the hospital’s records showed that the donor was admitted as Abubakar Hassan, with a date of birth of February 4, 2000, and hospital number WCA/8066/2026.

Wellington said he was discharged on April 28, four days after the operation.

The hospital further disclosed that he was readmitted on July 11 for wound management and removal of residual stitches and discharged on July 13.

It explained that the donor had informed the hospital that he had travelled and was therefore unable to attend some of his earlier scheduled follow-up appointments.

The hospital’s account comes against the backdrop of the police allegation that the donor’s real name was Samuel Ezekiel and that his identity was allegedly changed for the procedure.

The police investigation, according to reports, centres on allegations that vulnerable young people were recruited through deception and that documents were allegedly manipulated to facilitate kidney removal.

The police have not yet made a final determination on the culpability of the hospital, doctors or other persons connected to the case, and the allegations remain subject to investigation and due process.

Wellington, meanwhile, maintained that there was no indication at the time of admission that the documents presented by the donor were false or that his identity had been misrepresented.

The clinic stated, “Since the records department of Wellington relied on the above documents submitted on admission, as per the current level of practice, we were not aware or suspicious of any misrepresentation or manipulation of identity at the time.”

It further said it had no independent information suggesting that there was a financial or other transactional relationship involving the nephrology team, donor, recipient or any other person connected to the transplant.

The hospital argued that its role did not extend to conducting forensic investigations into the personal relationship between donors and recipients beyond the identification documents, declarations and other records presented as part of the medical process.

It said the donor was treated in its records as a consenting adult donor.

Wellington also denied knowledge of any alleged payment for the kidney, insisting that the facility’s understanding was that the transplant was being undertaken to save the life of a patient suffering from end-stage kidney disease.

The clinic said it had nevertheless taken the allegations seriously and decided to suspend its renal transplant-related services while the authorities investigate.

The statement said the hospital was “cooperating fully with the relevant investigative authorities probing the circumstances surrounding the kidney transplant.”

It added that the facility would abide by the outcome of the investigations.

The hospital said, “We remain committed to ethical and evidence-based healthcare and will continue to cooperate with all relevant investigative and regulatory authorities.”

The controversy comes at a particularly sensitive time for Nigeria’s organ-transplantation sector.

In March 2025, the Federal Government launched the Standards and Guidelines for Establishing and Coordinating Organ/Tissue Transplantation Services in Nigeria, aimed at strengthening ethical safeguards, transparency and accountability in transplantation.

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare said the framework was developed in response to concerns over unethical practices in organ transplantation and was designed to protect both donors and recipients. It identified ethics, donor protection, patient safety, minimum standards and compliance requirements among the key areas covered by the guidelines.

At the launch, the then Minister of State for Health, Dr Iziaq Salako, said the framework was intended to regulate organ and tissue transplantation and restore confidence in the system.

The ministry also said it planned to map and certify health institutions involved in organ donation and transplantation and establish an organ donation and transplantation registry and banking system.

The renewed attention to the issue also follows Nigeria’s broader struggle with ethical concerns surrounding organ transplantation, including allegations of exploitation of vulnerable people.

The Federal Government had acknowledged in 2025 that the country had witnessed troubling incidents involving unethical organ harvesting and other excesses in the transplantation space, stressing the need for stringent safeguards to protect donors and recipients.

Under the National Health Act, the use and allocation of human organs for transplantation are subject to prescribed procedures, while contravention of the relevant provisions, including charging a fee for a human organ, attracts criminal sanctions.

The police investigation gained national attention after allegations surfaced that Samuel Ezekiel, 22, was allegedly recruited and taken to Wellington Hospital in Life Camp, Abuja, for kidney removal. Police subsequently announced the arrest of Emmanuel Ode, Dr Benjamin Oyimeh, Dr Daniel Otukpa and David Idoko in connection with the alleged organ-harvesting and human-trafficking network.