Baba Suwe Responds with N1Billion Suit
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Director-General, Mr. Femi Ajayi, has said that the organization has strong grounds to continue to hold well-known Nigerian comedian and movie icon, Mr. Babatunde Omidina, popularly known in Nigeria as Baba Suwe or Adimeru.
Mr. Femi Ajayi told sharpedgenews.com on Wednesday that his Agency has reasonable grounds to continue to hold Mr. Omidina because the scanning equipment that x-rayed him hardly makes mistakes.
Mr. Ajayi laughed at the suggestion that some margin of error can be found in the image that was produced by the scanning machine, especially if Omidina had eaten Iyan (Nigerian staple ‘pounded yam’) or other local staples before heading for the airport.
Although Baba Suwe’s lawyers have reportedly gone ahead to sue NDLEA for a record one billion naira (N1bn) for defamation, Mr. Ajayi said that his agency does not see any brewing crisis and cautioned the public against distracting the Agency from its operations. He admitted that the iconic profile of Baba Suwe has contributed to the high visibility the matter is attracting. He also said that the agency must be allowed to engage its proven options apart from keeping watch over excreta that may never come.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that `Baba Suwe’ was arrested by the NDLEA on Oct. 12 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos and is still being detained.
The NDLEA had alleged that the 53-year-old actor had ingested substances suspected to be hard drugs, but there was no evidence to substantiate the claim even after the suspect had defecated thrice, under close observation.
His lawyer, Mohammed Bashir told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview on Wednesday that a fundamental rights enforcement suit would be filed on his behalf within the next five days.
Bashir said: “We will be filing the suit before a Federal High Court in Lagos between now and Monday.
“We will be asking for N1 billion as compensation for damages suffered by him due to his illegal arrest and detention, as well as the embarrassment and defamation done to his reputation as a result of the incident.”
The lawyer further told NAN that NDLEA officials had prevented him from meeting physically with Baba Suwe since his arrest, almost a week ago.
“I have visited the place twice since he was detained but was turned back and prevented from seeing my client. This denial of access to my client is another violation of his fundamental human rights,” Bashir said.