Baba Suwe is no longer interested in the NDLEA money, but a public apology will do just fine

Nollywood comic-actor of the Yoruba-speaking genre, Babatunde Omidina, better known as Baba Suwe, says he has moved on from the cocaine smuggling scandal, and N25 million settlement he was being owed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

The High Court of Lagos had initially ordered the NDLEA to pay Baba Suwe N25 million as damages after he was incarcerated for many days on suspicion of ingesting hard drugs, but the Appeal Court would later set aside the High Court’s judgment in the matter.

In a recent interview with Saturday Beats, Baba Suwe said he doesn’t need the money anymore, but now requires a public apology from the NDLEA, to be published in the newspapers.

He said, “The NDLEA has wronged me and it is meant to find a way to make me happy. It is a slap on my face. I am not agitating for the money; I don’t need it to survive in life. All I want is an apology. If the government can tender an apology to me and publish it in newspapers, I will have peace of mind and be happy.”

Suwe also showered praises on late Lagos lawyer and human rights champion, Bamidele Aturu, who defended him in the cocaine-smuggling case. He labelled Aturu as his saviour and helper whom God sent to rescue him.

He said, “I could not sign Aturu’s condolence register; it was my child that signed it. Aturu was my saviour, helper and Godsent. Aturu’s death is one of the most painful things to have happened to me. He was a very nice person; he was very passionate about me. When the incident happened, he came to meet me and asked me to tell him the truth if I was guilty or innocent and I told him the truth. He then assured me that he would defend me so that I would not go to jail and that’s what he did.”

He also refuted the widespread reports that he was getting married soon, having lost his wife, Omoladun, over five years ago. Suwe added,

“It is not true that I am about to get married. Don’t mind those saying it, they are saying rubbish. There is no atom of truth in it. If I would get married, it would not be a secret; everybody would hear about it. I also have it in mind to marry a woman that would love me as well as my children and give me peace of mind.”