Baba Suwe and the "drug peddling" saga in 2011

 

On the 12th of October, 2011, popular Nollywood actor, BABA Suwe (Babatunde Omidina) was arrested at Lagos airport by the NDLEA following a tip-off suggesting he had swallowed large amounts of cocaine wraps. Subsequently, he was detained for three whole weeks while they closely monitored the perceived multiple hyper-dense nodular particles in his upper gastro-intestinal tract as revealed by an initial scan.

When the three weeks elapsed, they found nothing before one judge,  Yetunde Idowu, at a Lagos high court accepted his bail with #500,000. However, his defence lawyer Bamidele Aturu wanted more for his client. He sued NDLEA and another Lagos high court in 2012 ruled in their favour, compelling the anti drug agency to pay a #25 million compensation to Baba Suwe.

Although many believed Baba Suwe was arrested because drug peddling was gradually becoming the in-thing among notable people in the country, taking a cue from Madam Wunmi, another popular Nollywood actor that had recently been arrested and jailed. Some also believed that Baba Suwe had help (used juju to conceal the drugs or move them out completely) but whatever the situation was, Baba Suwe never remained the same.

Shortly after that encounter, his health deteriorated so much that his career suffered and maybe ended. He couldn't feature in movies except one or two skits his son featured him in. In 2021, Baba Suwe passed on and NDLEA never compensated him with a dime.