Wellington Clinics, an Abuja-based hospital, has denied allegations of involvement in the illegal sale or harvesting of human organs following a kidney transplant carried out at its facility.
The hospital also announced the suspension of all kidney transplant-related services pending the conclusion of investigations into the circumstances surrounding the procedure conducted on April 24, 2026.
The development follows a police investigation into an alleged organ-harvesting and human-trafficking network operating across Abuja and Nasarawa State.
The Nigeria Police Force recently arrested four suspects, including two medical doctors, in connection with the case involving a 22-year-old man identified by the police as Samuel Ezekiel.
Police alleged that Ezekiel was deceived into undergoing a kidney removal procedure and was paid about $1,250, said to be approximately N1.7 million, for his kidney.
However, Wellington Clinics, in a statement issued by its Director of Administration, Yemi Olatunbosun, said the hospital did not participate in or benefit from any financial transaction involving the donor or recipient.
The hospital said its role was limited to providing an equipped theatre and the necessary facilities for the operation under an agreed rental arrangement.
“Wellington Clinics did not participate, facilitate, negotiate, or benefit from any transactional arrangements,” the statement said.
According to the hospital, the procedure was performed by a specialist team led by a Senior Consultant Nephrologist and Chief Executive Officer of Crown Medical and Kidney Centre, Dr Benjamin Oyimeh.
It explained that under its arrangement with specialist medical teams, the lead consultant is responsible for recruiting patients, conducting medical assessments, establishing donor-recipient compatibility, obtaining informed consent and handling ethical and medico-legal requirements.
The clinic added that the specialist team was also responsible for ensuring compliance with relevant provisions of the National Health Act and professional guidelines.
Wellington said its records showed that the donor was admitted on April 24 under the name Abubakar Hassan, with a date of birth of February 4, 2000.
It said Hassan underwent a left donor nephrectomy on the same day, after which the kidney was transplanted into a patient suffering from end-stage kidney disease.
The hospital stressed that neither the donor nor the recipient died during or as a result of the procedure.
It further stated that the donor presented several documents, including a court affidavit, National Identification Number slip, birth certificate, affidavit of consent and statutory declaration of age.
According to the clinic, he was accompanied by a man identified as Abubakar Isa, who was introduced as his brother.
Wellington said the donor was discharged on April 28 but later returned to the facility on July 11 for wound care and removal of remaining stitches before being discharged two days later.
The hospital said the donor had explained that he had travelled and was therefore unable to attend some earlier follow-up appointments.
The statement comes amid police claims that the donor’s identity may have been altered to facilitate the kidney removal.
Wellington said it had no reason at the time to suspect that the documents submitted during admission were fraudulent.
“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,” the hospital stated.
It also denied having any knowledge of an alleged payment for the kidney, saying its understanding was that the transplant was being carried out to save the life of a patient with end-stage kidney failure.
The hospital, however, said it had taken the allegations seriously and decided to suspend its renal transplant services while investigations continue.
It said, “We remain committed to ethical and evidence-based healthcare and will continue to cooperate with all relevant investigative and regulatory authorities.”
The police investigation involves allegations that vulnerable individuals were recruited through deception and that their identities and documents were manipulated to facilitate organ removal.
The police have not made a final determination on the culpability of Wellington Clinics, the doctors or other individuals linked to the transplant, as investigations are ongoing.
The controversy has renewed concerns about ethical safeguards in Nigeria’s organ transplantation sector, particularly following the Federal Government’s launch of national standards and guidelines for organ and tissue transplantation services in March 2025.
The framework was designed to strengthen donor protection, patient safety, ethical standards and accountability within the sector.
Under Nigeria’s National Health Act, the use and allocation of human organs for transplantation are subject to prescribed procedures, while unlawful commercial dealings involving human organs attract criminal sanctions.
