N25m Compensation: Baba Suwe Appeals to Supreme Court

Mr. Babatunde Omidina

Yoruba actor and comedian, Mr. Babatunde Omidina, aka Baba Suwe, has dragged the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to the Supreme Court over N25m compensation awarded to him by a Lagos High Court.

Justice Yetunde Idowu of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja on November 24, 2011 ordered the NDLEA to pay the sum to Omidina for allegedly detaining him illegally over suspicion of hard drug ingestion.

Following an appeal by the anti-drug agency, the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal on May 31, set aside the judgment, declaring that the award was “excessive and oppressive”.

However, dissatisfied with the appeal court ruling, Omidina, through his counsel, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, on Friday filed a notice of appeal at the apex court.

Aturu, in one of his seven grounds of appeal, noted that the Court of Appeal was wrong to have declared that the Lagos High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

“Section 46 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended clearly vests jurisdiction to entertain fundamental rights cases on High Court of Lagos State for violation of rights that occurred within Lagos State,” Aturu said.

He also argued that it was erroneous for the appellate court to have declared that the award of N25m was “excessive”.

He noted that the Court of Appeal “arrived at its decision based on extraneous issues”, adding that the appellate court “failed to state and award what sum it considers reasonable and not excessive”.

According to Aturu, the decision of the appellate court is in conflict with previous decisions of the Supreme Court, which notes, “once a person’s right has been shown to have been violated, compensation is automatic”.

Aturu argued, “The Court of Appeal did not consider at all the features of the appellant’s arrest and detention that warranted the award of N25m submitted to it.”

The anti-drug agency on October 12, 2011 arrested Omidina at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos on his way to Paris on the suspicion of ingestion of hard drug.