It was boos and jeers for operatives of the Nationa Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) who ensured that Nigeria’s iconic comedian, Mr. Babatunde Omidina, a.k.a. Baba Suwe made an appearance
before Justice Yetunde Idowu of the Lagos High Court which sat in Ikeja on Tuesday.
A crowd of fans and fellow actors of Mr. Omidina climbed the fence, mounted the hood of cars and pushed and shoved in order to catch a glimpse of, and stand in solidarity with, Omidina, who was arrested about 21 days ago at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, en route Paris, France, after an advance scanner detected images of substance to be pellets of ingested hard drugs.
A waiting nation and frustrated citizens who felt indignation at the conflicting stories from the no-nonsense anti-narcotic agency thronged the venue where Omidina’s lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, raised human rights enforcement reasons on the wrongful detention of the comic actor.
Justice Yetunde Idowu gave an order that the Nollywood Star, Babatunde Omidina, aka Baba Suwe from NDLEA custody, if he fails to excrete narcotic substances by Friday.
The actor had slammed a N100 million suit on the agency over his arrest and continued detention on suspicion that he had ingested hard drugs.
The Judge had on Nov. 26 ordered the NDLEA to produce Omidina physically in court on Tuesday to allay fears over his health condition.
Idowu, while ruling on the continued detention of the actor, said she was concerned about the liberty of every citizen, adding that there was no law that was superior to the constitution.
She said: “Mr Omidina is due for immediate and unconditional release, having been in NDLEA’s custody for 21 days without being charged to court for any offence.
“The Order of the Federal High Court expires on Nov. 4, 2011, and I hereby order that come Nov. 4, the applicant should be released on bail on the condition that he does not excrete any substance suspected to be cocaine or heroin”.
The Judge, therefore, granted him bail in the sum of N500,000 with a surety in like sum, adding that the address of the surety must be verified by the Chief Registrar of the Court.
She also ordered the NDLEA to deposit Omidina’s passport, currently in their custody, to the Chief Registrar of the Court pending the date of judgement to be fixed for the matter.
The comedian, who was called to address the Judge, shocked the court with the revelation that he had been feeding himself with his personal money since his arrest on Oct. 12.
“I have been feeding myself because most times they will bring food around 11 a.m. and I can’t wait until then to eat because of my health condition.
“I have excreted about 15 times since my arrest”, he said.
Omidina, however, told the court that he was in good spirit and was not being harassed by NDLEA’s officials.
His lawyer, Bamidele Aturu, in an application dated Oct. 19, had asked the court for an order declaring his arrest and continued detention on suspicion of drug trafficking as a violation of his fundamental human rights.
Aturu argued that the action contravened Sections 34 and 35 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
He further asked for an order releasing the applicant from unlawful detention and the award of N100 million as compensation for the gross violation of his fundamental human rights.
The lawyer also demanded a public apology from the NDLEA to be published in at least two national dailies over the incident.
NDLEA’s lawyer, Mr Femi Oloruntoba, had opposed the application and urged the court not to grant any of the relief being sought by the applicant.
Oloruntoba said Omidina was arrested on suspicion that he had ingested hard drugs which was further confirmed by the results of CT Scans on Oct. 17 and Oct. 27 respectively.
He claimed that the continued detention of the actor was based on the order granted by Justice Okechukwu Okeke of a Federal High Court in Lagos on Oct. 21.
According to him, the order granted the NDLEA permission to keep the actor in their custody for 15 days for further investigation, stressing that the order was still active until Nov. 4.
A crowd of supporters and sympathisers had besieged the court premises waiting to catch a glimpse of the embattled comedian.
Additional Reports Courtesy of NAN.