A Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Dr Torngee Malu, has called for kidney donors and doctors involved in transplant procedures to be celebrated rather than victimised, urging authorities to properly investigate allegations of illegal organ harvesting before publicly accusing medical practitioners.
Malu made the call on Tuesday while appearing on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, where he commented on the arrest and parade of two doctors and other suspects by the Nigeria Police Force over an alleged organ-harvesting syndicate in Nasarawa State.
The plastic surgeon said Nigeria’s inadequate blood donation system highlighted the need to encourage voluntary donations and create a properly regulated environment for organ transplantation rather than stigmatise people who voluntarily donate parts of their bodies for medical procedures.
“I think that these people should be celebrated and not victimised. Both the people who had the heart to donate a kidney and those who carried out the procedure—they should be celebrated,” Malu said.
“As far as I’m concerned, they are heroes because they have brought something that is new to Nigeria.”
Malu said organ donation should be encouraged within a properly regulated medical system, rather than allowing social media allegations to shape public perception of legitimate medical procedures.
He said the number of successful transplant procedures carried out by the doctors involved should also be considered in assessing the case.
“Like the surgeon said, in this year alone, they’ve carried out six procedures and all of them are successful. I mean, as I said earlier, 50 people die from kidney disease every day in Nigeria,” he said.
“So we should be encouraging more people to go into these procedures under a coordinated system, rather than following social media sensations to victimise doctors.”
Surgeon cites legal provisions on organ donation
Speaking on the legal framework governing organ donation in Nigeria, Malu said the law permits kidney and other forms of organ donation under certain conditions.
He said the Nigerian Health Care Act 2014 provides a framework for organ donation and argued that the law does not prohibit adults from voluntarily donating organs when the required conditions are met.
According to him, the procedure must involve adults who are capable of giving informed consent and must be carried out in an appropriate medical facility.
“It also says that the procedure should be carried out only on adults, for people age 18 and above. And it said it should be carried out in a standard hospital, and then the people should give consent for the procedure to be carried out,” he said.
Applying those conditions to the case under investigation, Malu said the individuals identified by the police were adults and had allegedly consented to the procedures.
“Now, let’s bring it down to this index case. The people involved, are they under 18? No, they are above 18. They said it themselves. One of them is 23 years and above, so they are above 18, so they are not children,” he said.
“Two, did they give consent? They agreed that they actually gave consent.”
Malu further claimed that the individuals involved had signed consent forms and sworn affidavits indicating that they understood and voluntarily agreed to the procedures.
He also argued that the procedures were carried out in a standard hospital by qualified medical personnel.
“Now, fourthly, did they do this procedure in a standard hospital? Yes. It was carried out in a standard hospital by qualified medical doctors, surgeons, and a medical team,” he said.
Malu criticises ‘social media mob action’
The surgeon criticised what he described as “social media mob action”, arguing that allegations involving medical procedures should be properly investigated before practitioners are publicly accused.
“And so, the question I’m—I think that, I think we have followed too much social media mob action. We have not investigated the situation, because what came up first was a social media post by a social media activist about people’s kidneys being harvested, and the next thing we saw: police parading medical doctors who have been practicing medicine for over 20 years,” he said.
“I think that’s mob action, and I’m glad that Channels is giving me this opportunity to explain that the medical world is very different from what people actually see outside.”
Police investigation
The Nigeria Police Force had on August 19 arrested four suspects during a sting operation at Auta Balifi in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Those paraded by the police were Emmanuel Ode, 23; Dr Benjamin Oyime, 48, a nephrologist and consultant to Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, Abuja; Dr Daniel Otukpa, 53, also a nephrologist and Acting Director of Clinical Services at Wellington Hospital; and David Idoko, 25.
According to the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, Ode allegedly confessed to recruiting victims under false pretences.
The police alleged that one victim was lured to Wellington Hospital in April 2026, where his kidney was allegedly harvested after he was paid $1,250, while another victim allegedly underwent a similar procedure in 2022.
The Force further alleged that the suspects and their accomplices targeted vulnerable young people and obtained consent for illegal organ harvesting by exploiting their financial difficulties.
The police said investigations were ongoing to identify and apprehend other suspects allegedly connected to the syndicate.
The allegations against the suspects remain subject to investigation and possible judicial proceedings, and they have not been convicted of any offence.