A young Nigerian man, Samuel Ezekiel, has accused his friend, Emmanuel Odeh, of deceiving him into undergoing a kidney removal procedure and later spending part of the money he received on electronic gadgets.

Ezekiel made the allegation on Friday while speaking to journalists during the Nigeria Police Force’s parade of suspects linked to an alleged organ-harvesting syndicate operating in Abuja and Nasarawa State.

According to him, Odeh initially told him they were going to a hospital, and because he trusted his friend, he followed without questioning the arrangement.

Ezekiel said Odeh later connected him with a man identified as David, who took him to an agent known as Ben for medical tests.

He explained that his first test did not match the intended kidney recipient. However, he was later informed that another recipient had been found and that his kidney was a match.

Ezekiel alleged that the group subsequently told him his name would be changed to Hassan Abubakar.

He said they went to the Federal High Court, where an affidavit was prepared before he was taken to Wellington Hospital in Life Camp, Abuja.

The victim said he signed documents at the hospital before being taken into the theatre on April 24.

Ezekiel recalled that shortly before the operation, he was handed money in US dollars. He said he gave the cash to Odeh to keep while he went into the theatre.

But after the procedure, Ezekiel alleged that Odeh had exchanged the money and used part of it to buy two phones, two power banks and two Wi-Fi devices.

He said Odeh gave him one of each item while keeping the others.

Ezekiel said he remained in the hospital for about a week before he was discharged. He was then taken to a hotel by Odeh, where they stayed for two days before travelling to Cross River State.

According to him, they spent about three months in Cross River before he began asking Odeh what happened to the money.

He alleged that his friend told him the money had been exhausted.

Ezekiel further claimed that when they were preparing to return to Abuja, Odeh said they did not have enough money for transportation. He alleged that his phone was subsequently collected and sold to raise money for the journey.

Although Ezekiel admitted that he knew a kidney procedure was involved, he said Odeh had assured him that the operation would not cause him any serious problems.

He could not give the exact amount he received, but recalled being paid several $100 notes and one $50 note.

The allegation is part of a police investigation into an alleged organ-harvesting network operating around Abuja and Nasarawa State.

The police recently paraded several suspects following a sting operation in Auta Balefi, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

Among those paraded were Odeh, Dr Benjamin Oyime, a nephrologist and consultant to Wellington Hospital; Dr Daniel Otukpa, another nephrologist and the hospital’s Acting Director of Clinical Services; and David Idoko.

The police alleged that the syndicate recruited vulnerable people and facilitated illegal kidney removal using false identities, forged documents and misleading representations.

The Force said investigations were continuing to uncover other members of the alleged network.

The matter became widely known after activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, said a young man had approached his organisation with medical evidence indicating that his left kidney was missing.

Following the disclosure, the police launched an investigation that resulted in the arrest and parade of the suspects.