Ike Ekweremadu, 60, had served as the deputy president of Nigeria's senate.

He was found guilty of offering money to a man who he brought to the UK to get his kidney in order to help his sick daughter.

While it is lawful in the UK to donate a kidney, it becomes criminal if there is a reward of money or other material advantage.

One woman told the BBC's Chris Ewokor it could serve as an example to others in Nigeria.

"I don’t see anything wrong with the conviction," Elizabeth Bankole said. "It is only in Nigeria that people commit crimes and get away with it, and you don’t expect that same madness to be attainable in other nations of the world. I look forward to the day that the judiciary will not compromise and deal out judgement as is fit."

Another was in shock over the verdict.

"I’m numbed, I’m pained," ldris Arafat said. "This is a very big man in Nigeria and he has a sick child and he was struggling to get help. It’s an eye opener that before you do anything you must ask about what the law says and you have to act within the law. I have a sick child too – but I would not be desperate enough to break laws."