Nollywood actor arrested for trafficking drugs

Baba Suwe in one of his movies

By Prince Osuagwu

Nollywood actor and veteran comedian, Alhaji King Babatunde Ayinla Nurudeen Olasunkanmi Omidina,  who is popularly known as Baba Suwe was arrested on Wednesday night for being in possession of substances suspected to be cocaine.

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLEA) who made the arrest said Baba Suwe was picked up at the International wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos, while boarding an Air France flight to Paris, France.

Baba Suwe the family man; Doing what he was supposed to do in France

Baba Suwe was on his way to Paris to act as a master of ceremony in a naming ceremony of an Air France staff scheduled for Saturday.

 NDLEA source told FreeTalkAfrica that the Air France staff who the veteran actor was billed to perform the MC for, was also picked up immediately he was arrested.

The scanning machine at the airport detected suspected substance hidden in Baba Suwe’s stomach, but the suspect was alleged to have denied that such drug was on him.

A second scanning proved that he was carrying the substance and this led to his immediate arrest. He is said to have been kept at the NDLEA office at the airport, where he would remain until he starts excreting the drugs.

In another of his movies

Reacting to the sad news, the National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria(AGN), Mr Segun Arinze described the act as “an embarrassment to the Nigerian motion picture industry.'

“It a sad development I must tell. If truly he is arrested in connection with drug, he has come to the end of his career. I feel highly disappointed in him. Most of us have worked so hard to come the level that we are today.”

Arinze who is holidaying in America also added that “We cannot destroy the image we have built over the years because of the material things of life. We will meet with the executives of the Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners(ANTP) and decide on what to do with him.”

Another notable film director and producer, Lancelot Imasuen and his colleague the president, Association of Movie Producer (AMP) Paul Obazele respectively, condemned the act, describing it as “tarnishing the image of the industry. 

Obazele said, "Baba Suwe is an icon and everybody looks up to him in the industry. This is surely not a good news at all.”

For Lancelot, “I'm not particularly happy because it will affect all of us who usual travel out of the country on regular basis. I know that things are difficult, but must he descend so low to be arrested in connection with drug.”

Other actors and producers of the Yoruba genre of the Nigerian film industry where Baba Suwe is king, also reacted.  For popular director of the epic Yoruba film “Aramotu”, Niji Akanni, "this is shocking and abominable and it is going to affect his career and the industry at large. It is a bad news, he has no reason to indulge in that act. Nobody is happy about the news"

The man when he is not on set

Others who couldn't utter a word at hearing the news only screamed and refrained from making any comment. 

Baba Suwe is a very successful and popular Yoruba actor, famous for his comedy roles in Yoruba movies. He is one of the icons in the film industry, having worked with virtually everybody in the industry. He was a recipient of the African Artists and Entertainers Afro-Hollywood award in New York which is like the African Grammy.