The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has being ordered by the Lagos High Court, to deposit the sum of N25 million into an interest yielding account of Nollywood actor & comedian, Babatunde Omidina (also known as Baba Suwe) within 21 days.
The presiding judge, Justice Yetunde Idowu in her ruling on Friday, ordered that the anti-drug agency, deposit the sum with the Chief Registrar of the Court, who would in turn deposit the money into an interest yielding account pending the determination of an appeal filed against her judgment by the agency at the Court of Appeal in Lagos.
Justice Idowu had ruled in November 2011 that the comic be paid N25 million for denying his rights to personal freedom. The actor had sued the agency for N100 million following his trial and long detention after he was arrested for allegedly concealing drugs in his stomach in 2011.
The NDLEA had prayed the court to stay the execution of the judgment on the grounds that the agency will be prevented from performing its statutory functions as well prosecuting the appeal if it is made to pay the judgment sum.
According to NDLEA’s Director of Prosecution and Legal services, Mr. Femi Oloruntoba, the total 2011 budgetary allocation of the agency is N7.8billion out of which about N7.1bn has been earmarked for personnel cost, leaving only N6.33 million for its overhead cost.
On tendering an apology to the actor as also ordered by the court, NDLEA argued that if it publishes an apology, its appeal on the judgement will be defeated.
According to NDLEA’s counsel, “if it (NDLEA) is made to publish an apology in two national dailies the apology cannot be retracted if the appeal succeeds.” He added that with such a development, “it’s right to appeal will be highly prejudiced.”
But in a counter-argument, Baba Suwe’s counsel insisted that “the successful party in litigation should not be refused the fruit of his litigation.”
Justice Idowu, however held that, the NDLEA has not given sufficient proof to show that paying the money will harm its operations in any way. She therefore granted a conditional Stay of Execution and ordered that the money should be paid within 21 days from today.
Baba Suwe was arrested on October 12, 2011 at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, by operatives of the NDLEA on the suspicion of ingesting substances likely to be banned drugs.
