Baba Suwe appears in court today

 
Nollywoodactor, Babatunde Omidina, popularly called Baba Suwe, will today appear for the first time in public at a Lagos High Court in Ikeja since he was arrested by the operatives of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency on October 12.

Baba Suwe has remaind in NDLEA’s custody since he was arrested by the NDLEA at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, when he was about boarding a Paris-bound Air France plane.

The NDLEA said Baba Suwe’sarrest was informed by the indication by its scanning machine at the airport that he had ingested substances suspected to be hard drugs.

Justice Yetunde Idowu on Wednesday ordered the NDLEA to produce the actor in court on November 1 (today), following the concern raised by his lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, over his state of health and his safety in the agency’s custody.

Aturu raised the fear at the resumed hearing in the N100m suit he filed on behalf of Baba Suwe against the NDLEA for alleged violation of his rights by keeping him in custody for more than 24 hours without charging him with any offence before any court.

In moving the application dated October 24, 2011 Aturu said Baba Suwe was diabetic, adding that the public and his family members were apprehensive that his state of health could be in jeopardy while he remained in the NDLEA’s custody.

NDLEA, represented by its Director, Prosecution and Legal Services, Femi Oloruntoba, did not oppose the prayer seeking to produce the actor in court, but feared that Baba Suwe’s presence in court might attract an uncontrollable crowd.

Idowu, who ordered the NDLEA to produce Baba Suwe “physically in court,” dismissed Oloruntoba’s fears, promising that all measures would be put in place to secure the court premises by keeping such crowd far away.

Contrary to NDLEA’s ealier claim, Omidina’s first son, Adesola, who deposed to a 10-paragraph affidavit, in support of the application, said his father told him when he paid him a visit on October 24 that “he had so far defeacated eight times without any banned substance in his excreta, though he ate thrice daily.”