NDLEA: We’ll Produce Baba Suwe Tomorrow

The 19-day long real life drama starring Nollywood comic actor, Baba Suwe, assumed a new dimension this morning with the revelation that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has never held any drug suspect in its custody for 19 days since it was set up about two decades ago.

The disclosure by Mitchell Ofoyeju, NDLEA Head of Public Affairs, was made this morning as he assured that the comic actor will be produced at the Ikeja High Court tomorrow as ordered by a judge last week.

“We are a law abiding agency and we can’t go against the decision of the court. We will produce him tomorrow as ordered by the court,” Ofoyeju said.

Asked if NDLEA has ever held a suspect this long, Ofoyeju said: “no, we have not held a suspect this long. But our international partners tell us that they have had a case of a 19-day detention before the drug was excreted. It depends on body constitution.”

When P.M.NEWS inquired about the international partners he was referring to, Ofoyeju said, “I have to confirm.”

An Ikeja High Court last Wednesday ordered NDLEA to produce physically in court the popular actor.

Justice Yetunde Idowu granted this order, following an application by Omidina’s lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, who urged the court to mandate the agency to produce the popular actor on 1 November.

Babatunde Omidina, Baba Suwe’s real name, was arrested in the night of Wednesday 12 October at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, southwest Nigeria, as he was about boarding an Air France flight to Paris, France.

He was detained after strange particles packed like hard drugs were detected in his stomach by the United States-donated scanning machine known as Soter RS.

The actor denied the allegations and threatened to sue NDLEA.

The NDLEA maintained that it will be vindicated when the actor’s wastes are analysed.

For two days, millions held their breath, expecting the first exhibit from the comedian’s wastes. Such wastes are usually tested by the NDLEA to exonerate or incriminate detained drug suspects after analysis.

But when the waste finally arrived in the night of 14 October, it bore no hint of drug ingestion. Public interest rose. Another round of waste yielded nothing. The third excretion was thus eagerly awaited, especially after Femi Ajayi, NDLEA Director-General, said in a television interview that suspects are usually released after a third excretion tests negative to drug ingestion.

On Monday night, the comedian produced the third waste sample, which also yielded nothing incriminating. Then began strident public clamour for his release. On the web, the NDLEA was slammed by angry Nigerians.

The next day, NDLEA’s Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, left many Nigerians confused, when he announced that the comedian still had to remain in detention.

“I can confirm that Baba Suwe is still under observation. He excreted for the third time last night and no drug was found. But he remains under observation.

“It will not end at the third excretion because it depends on body composition. For some people, it takes more time, more excretions. It really depends on the body of each individual,” Ofoyeju said. The Lagos airport Commander of the NDLEA, Mr. Hamza Umar, disclosed that in previous arrests, some suspects expelled the drug at the fourth excretion.

As days passed, the arrest looked more like a comedy of gargantuan errors, with many suggesting that the agency was in a quandary. Many called on the actor to sue the NDLEA. But Ajayi claimed the agency was only doing its job.

—Simon Ateba