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Tag: Baba Suwe

  • Discharged from LUTH, Baba Suwe seeks further treatment abroad

    Comedian Babatunde Omidina aka Baba Suwe who was critically ill and on admission at the University of Lagos Teach Hospital, LUTH, has been discharged.

    The news was revealed by actor Yomi Fabiyi through an Instagram post. He also said that Baba Suwe would proceed for further treatment abroad.

    “Veteran Actor and Comedian Babatunde Omidina a.k.a Baba Suwe has been discharged from LUTH after intense medical treatment,” he wrote on Saturday.

    “I can confirm to you that efforts to quickly stabilize and/or completely treat him to full wellness by medical experts at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) at the instance of Minister of Health are yielding positive results as Baba Suwe can now walk without the stick, less pain and he is getting better.

    “If further theraphy are administered and medications adhered to, he will come out completely of the major ailments.

    “He will however proceed abroad very soon to further his treatment,” he wrote.

    He also revealed that signed letters of appreciation were on the way to all the benefactors of the embattled actor.

    Part of his treatment was facilitated by the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) with the assistance of the Federal Ministry of Health.

  • I’VE NOTHING AGAINST BABA SUWE –ACE ACTOR DELE ODULE

    Born in Oru-Ijebu, in Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State in 1961, cross-over actor Dele Odule obtained a Grade II Certificate from the Teacher’s Training College, Oru before proceeding to the University of Ibadan where he studied Theatre Arts.

    The former President of Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), in this interview with DUPE AYINLA-OLASUNKANMI, cleared the air on issues concerning his ailing colleague, Baba Suwe, among other issues.

    WHY are you being challenged over Baba Suwe’s ailment?

    Some of the things they said is that I am heartless. “Why would he say he sent N100,000 to Baba Suwe’? What can the amount do in the context of his sickness?” Unfortunately, most of them were addressing the issue as if what I said is not right. Several people were insulting me, including one Ogunseki and Sayo Opeyemi. What I simply said was that we should not be attacked or called heartless when a situation like that arises. I have said it many times that perhaps these people are expecting too much from us. What I said was that we should use Babatunde Omidina’s case as a study. If I belong to an association, I will definitely belong to other bodies too. If I have a challenge, particularly in the area of health and the church, mosque or traditional association I belong to cannot rescue me, then the professional body I belong to should not be attacked. If you refuse to challenge the religious body I belong to or my family, why should you challenge my colleagues? I was just being practical.

    So what is your son’s involvement in this issue?

    He got involved because those who know him as my son actually asked why his father was addressing the issue of Baba Suwe the way I did. My son is not an actor. I don’t even have any of my children in that line. However, this is not the first time we are having issues with the public concerning our sick colleague. They always claim we don’t lend helping hands to one another. I don’t know where they got that impression from. There is need for us to address this form of embarrassment. That is one of the reasons I usually stay away from the media, because whatever I say will be misinterpreted. I try to stay away from controversy.

    Not that I am scared of anybody, but if they remove sentiment from this issue, they would know I never said anything against him. When they said we did not contribute money towards his ailment. I merely explained that I met him in 2017 at one of our conventions, and was surprised that his sickness had worsened. I mentioned that I called my people on the need for us to do something urgently and we raised N100, 000, which he did not acknowledge. As such, I was just trying to let you know that we did not abandon him as claimed by the public. As a matter of fact, we even went ahead to speak to a health organisation on how they can be of help to him. You can confirm this from the present president of TAMPAN, Mr. Latin. At that time, the health organisation even called Baba Suwe but unfortunately, he did not pick their calls. What people should understand is that, this sickness did not start yesterday, and we had tried in the past.  It was when he needed more help that he cried out.

    Is it true that the association has been taking care of him before now?

    I cannot say that the association has been the one taking care of him. All I can say is that we did not abandon him. We could not continue because he has been on it for a while. If we say that, it means we have been doing the day in-day out care. And it is not possible for the association to be taking care of him for forever. We can only assist. We have done our own part; that is not to say that the part is enough. But we have to know the situation of things, before we can go further.

    Having cleared the issue of Baba Suwe, let’s talk about you. How did you become an actor?

    The environment I grew up attracted me to the profession. I grew up in the village and there were lots of activities in that area. Then, I had the chance of watching people do dance, drumming, and singing. So I discovered I could do all these things after leaving modern school. I saw different travel theatre groups coming and putting up almost the same performances which we were paying to watch. And I decided to go into the profession and do better.

    Looks like the dancing, drumming and singing have disappeared…

    Life itself is dynamic. The only thing that is constant is change. That does not mean that we should forget travelling theatre or live performances. If I have to do such now, I have to convince people, and it is more expensive. And because of technology; emergence of film production, going into live performance will not yield much money now. You will spend much on putting it together, but people would rather go to the cinemas, or go for home video, which is close to reality. For live performances, there are some things you cannot achieve on stage, and if you want to get such, you have to spend more money. So people run away from it.

    How will you say the emergence of satellite TV has helped the film industry?

    It could have helped a lot in Nigeria but nothing works here probably because producers are not being paid. I am not saying we are not being paid at all. But most of these content buyers are exploiters. And once you cannot get what you want, you have to be satisfied with what you get. Because even that time when you are gone, and you have a good agreement, you will get every kobo you deserve and the money will keep coming.

    We can recall that there was a time you went back to school…

    It was to broaden my knowledge. When you go back to school, there are somethings you will get to know more about. I am glad I did. I am happy I had the opportunity and I made use of it. Secondly, I want to eradicate illiteracy in my immediate family. Because I don’t want any of my children saying, I am just an actor and not literate. I don’t know where they got the news that I have many children, thus calling me ‘father of all nations’. All my children are educated.

    What would you say to actors having extra marital affairs?

    There is no occupation that does not have its challenges and peculiarities. That is the bitter truth. One of the peculiarities of people with stardom is this. I am not encouraging anybody to do that or say it is the best way of life, but majority of the entertainers will fall victim. That is because you do not know that a person somewhere has feeling for you and before you know it, you are trapped.

    But are you saying there are no ways to avoid them?

    There are ways. But that is because you are not in this occupation. All these ladies you see, it is not as if they do not want to have husbands. And there is no way they can detect who has a genuine intention among these people. Some of them are on the look out to get down with some of these ladies because they are popular; immediately they sleep with them, they walk away. But these ladies would have believed that they have come across their own husband. These ladies are not wayward, but they are only out to satisfy their curiosity. Being popular is one of the disadvantages because most of them do not know that they are being used. Some would even flaunt their wealth before these ladies. I really pity most of them. I am not a reverend father; even reverend fathers fall victim.

    Are your children under the same roof?

    Yes, ask anybody, they will tell you that.

    So how do you manage all these women?

    I have only one wife. I have been married to just one woman all my life. I don’t know where people get their information from. But I will not reject any child of mine and they will be under my roof. What makes me different is that I will not hide away my inadequacies; that I have fallen victim of lust. I know I have done it. There is no way I will pretend that I have not engaged in such act. I am a very upright person.

    But how do you determine the paternity of these children?

    If tomorrow, any of the women comes out and say the child is not mine, I will gladly say goodbye. How do I determine the one that I actually got married to? Or have we not seen the case of being married and the children not yours? I cannot be doing DNA for every child. You see, I have zeroed my mind on some things. Those that are not mine and I am taking care of, I know them. I cannot just be saying all these on social media that I am sponsoring some children in schools and paying their fees every term. I also know some elders in the industry that when you call them and ask ‘who is Dele Odule? They will tell you ‘He is a fantastic and good guy. I know some that I am obliged to, that I do things for in my own little way till date. I don’t need to flaunt all these. So if a woman had said in the past that a child is mine and I have educated such child and she comes back today and says the child is no longer mine, I will bid her farewell. But I tell you today that I have never in my life married two wives. They say I have used women to adorn my home, that I have 10 children from 10 different women, where did they get those facts? And out of these 10 children; I have twins. I have less than 10 children and they call me ‘father of all nations’.

    What do you dislike about being a public figure?

    My privacy. If I have opportunity of coming back to life, I do not want to be a public figure. I just want to be a comfortable person; I don’t want to come into acting. I don’t pray to be in that system again. Sometimes I will just exclaim and say it is true I had something with this girl. And if I cannot fight it, I will just say bring the child. Or do people think that I just accept them as they are giving birth to those children?

    Who takes care of these children?

    I do. I play the role of the father and mother. I have five graduates and some working on their masters programme. The other ones are in boarding schools. They come home during the holidays. I take them to school and pick them up on holidays. When they are back, they come into my room, we talk, and play and we have cordial relationship. You cannot know they are not from the same mother because I never allow that.

  • Baba Suwe reveals plans to remarry

    Baba Suwe reveals plans to remarry

    •Five years after Omoladun’s death

    At last, popular Yoruba comic actor, Babatunde Omidina, aka Baba Suwe, has revealed plans to give marriage another shot, five years after he lost his wife, Monsurat Omidina, aka Omoladun, who reportedly died of hypertension.

    In a recent interview, the top Nollywood actor was quoted as saying that “It has not been easy, but life must go on. I believe whatever happens has been pre-ordained. The death of Omoladun was a great loss that I cannot get over in this lifetime.”

    Though he did not disclose the identity of the woman who has literally stolen his heart, the Ikorodu, Lagos-State born actor said he would never marry an actress again. “She is not an actress because I can’t marry an actress again.”

    His resolve not to marry an actress again might not be unconnected with the dust raised in some quarters after Omoladun, who was also an actress, passed on in 2009. It will be recalled that the controversy surrounding the death of Omoladun had put the dark-complexioned actor in the eye of storm for a long time.

    If the plans to remarry pull off, this may be another interesting chapter in the life of the popular actor, who has been maintaining a low profile, following his arrest by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and subsequent trial for allegedly involving in drug trafficking in 2011.

    Since he was left off the hook, he seems to have become a rarity in the movie industry, as he once alleged that Yoruba movie producers are not so keen on featuring him in their films.

  • Who wants Van Vicker dead?

    Who wants Van Vicker dead?

    THIS is not by any means the only celebrity internet death hoax. Artistes like 2face Idibia, Baba Suwe have one time or the other been “killed” on the cyberspace. A new report claims Ghanaian actor, Van Vicker, lost his life from injuries sustained from an accident on his way to church on Sunday.

    The saddest part is the rumour started on a fake Facebook account of his colleague, Nadia Buari. The fair-skinned actor who recently celebrated his wedding anniversary has debunked the rumour. He wrote on his Facebook page.

    “There is a post on an imposter’s page that I had an accident this morning on my way to church and I might die from bleeding. It is a rumour and a stunt to drive traffic to that page. I am well and in great health. JeHoV dey by my side. StayEeasy.”

    Van added, “These people have speculated my death more than 10 times. I do not know what they want but it could be they just want me dead. They can’t kill me. I am not even in the country, so how can anyone say I had an accident on my way to church this morning? I am fine and very healthy. There is nothing happening to me.”

  • Appeal Court dashes Baba Suwe’s hope for N25m damages

    Appeal Court dashes Baba Suwe’s hope for N25m damages

    The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, yesterday described as baseless and pervasive the award of N25 million compensation to a \yoruba actor, Babatunde Omidina, a.k.a. Baba Suwe, against the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

    In a judgment delivered by Justice R.N. Pemu, the court held that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to preside over the fundamental human rights (FHR) suit filed by Baba Suwe’s lawyer, Bamidele Aturu, on October 24, 2011.

    Justice Pemu, who said there was no way an FHR case could be heard without going into the main issue, noted that Section 251 of the country’s constitution provides that drugs and poison related cases are exclusively for Federal High Courts.

    Justice Yetunde Idowu of an Ikeja High Court had ordered the agency to pay Baba Suwe the sum of N25 million for his alleged illegal detention on suspicion of drug ingestion, as well as mandated the NDLEA to tender a public apology to the actor through two national newspapers.

    Baba Suwe was arrested by NDLEA men at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on  October 12, 2011, on his way to Paris, France.

    He was initially detained for for three days by the agency, during which period he defecated but no drug was found in his faeces.

    On October 15, the NDLEA took him to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) where a CT scan was conducted on him and the result showed he had elements of hard drugs in his system.

    He was subjected to another CT scan some days later and the result of the scan corroborated the one the agency had at the airport as well as the one conducted at LASUTH.

    On October 21, the agency obtained an order from the Federal High Court to extend Baba Suwe’s detention.

    Dissatisfied with Idowu’s  judgment, which held that the detention of the actor and the ill treatment meted out to him while in custody violated his constitutionally-guaranteed rights, the NDLEA approached the appellate court on December 16, 2011, urging the court to set aside the judgment.

    The agency had argued that the award of N25 million in favour of Baba Suwe was arbitrary and outrageous, adding that the trial court wrongly assumed jurisdiction to hear the suit.

    The NDLEA, through its head of legal unit, Mr. Femi Oloruntoba, contended that keeping Baba Suwe in custody between October 12 and 21, 2011 on the suspicion of drug ingestion did not violate his rights.

    Both parties adopted their briefs before the appeal panel, which had Justices Chima Nweze, Pemu and F.O. Akinbami on April 18 and judgment was reserved for a later date.

    Justice Pemu, who read the judgment held that the NDLEA had good reasons to detain Baba Suwe, adding that the N25 million damage was uncalled for.

    She said the result of the CT scans conducted on Baba Suwe were in consonance with NDLEA’s suspicion, adding that the agency was conscious of the fundamental right of the respondent, that was why it approached the Federal High Court for extension of time to keep him in custody.

    The judge held that the NDLEA acted in line of duty and has the prerogative to detain suspects for investigation as long as it does not exceed reasonable time as enshrined in Section 35(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

    Pemu said: “Contrary to the trial court’s position that the detention of the respondent was unreasonable, the appellant promptly approached the Federal hHgh Court for extension of time in order to continue its investigation.

    “The detention from October 12 to 21 does not abridge the respondent’s right in anyway.

    “The issue of damages does not apply. The award of damges can be descretional but such descretion, if necessary, must be based on law.

    “In this case, the award of N25 million is erroneous, excessive, unrealistic, pervasive and has no basis. There was no evidence to warrant such award.

    “This appeal succeeds and the judgment of the lower court is wrong and hereby set aside.”

    However, Aturu, who expressed his reservation of the appeal court’s judgment, said they would take the case to the Supreme Court.

    He said: “Well, the Appeal Court has done its work. As lawyers, we have no other choice but to abide for now with its decision.

    “We understand the policy base of the decision, which the court gave as an idea of preventing inundation of law enforcement agencies with cases of this nature. But we disagree.

    “We think in our view that the period constitutionally prescribed for the arrest and detention of citizens of Nigeria cannot be extended. It appears that is what the Appeal Court has done in this case and we disagree.

    “We will file notices of appeal as urgently as possible, believing that the Supreme Court will take a different position,” Aturu said.

  • Baba Suwe vs NDLEA: Parties to argue briefs April 18

    Baba Suwe vs NDLEA: Parties to argue briefs April 18

    The Court of Appeal, Lagos has fixed April 18 for hearing in the appeal filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, challenging the N25 million damages awarded to Yoruba actor, Babatunde Omidina (Baba Suwe).

    Justice Yetunde Idowu of a Lagos High Court, Ikeja, had on November 24, 2011, ordered the agency to pay N25 million as damages for unlawful detention of the respondent on suspicion of drug ingestion.

    The court also ordered the agency to apologise to the actor publicly, in conspicuous pages of two national dailies.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the hearing on Friday at the appellate court had to be adjourned because the suit was listed for motion, instead of arguments.

    The court, presided over by Justice Chima Nweze, said the suit was wrongly listed for motion, instead of arguments.

    Nweze said that in view of the error, the case was, therefore, adjourned to April 18 for definite hearing.

    NAN recalls that Baba Suwe was arrested by NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on the October 12, 2011 for allegedly ingesting narcotics.

    He was detained for several weeks but did not excrete any such substance.

    The trial judge, Idowu, in her judgment, held that the detention of the actor and the ill treatment meted to him while in custody violated his constitutionally-guaranteed rights.

    Counsel to NDLEA, Mr. Femi Oloruntoba, in a five-ground notice of appeal, urged the appellate court to set aside the judgment, claiming that the award of N25 million in favour of Omidina was arbitrary.

    He also submitted that the trial court wrongly assumed jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

    Oloruntoba had insisted in the appeal that keeping the respondent in custody between October 12 and October 21, 2011, on the suspicion of drug ingestion, did not violate his rights.

    The agency further stated that there was an order of the Federal High Court on October 21, 2011 for a further detention of the applicant for 15 days.

    He said the detention of the applicant for nine days was legitimised by the court order.

    The NDLEA is therefore contesting Justice Idowu’s decision which held that the detention of the applicant for nine days, between October 12 and October 21, 2011, was “a flagrant abuse and infringement of his fundamental human rights.”