Analysis : What Went Wrong With Baba Suwe’s Arrest?

The real life drug drama starring Nollywood comic actor, Baba Suwe, has come to an end. At least for now. But millions of Nigerians are likely to grapple with myriad of unanswered questions for a long time.
Many are asking questions about the reliability of the scanners, the efficiency of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, and the legal framework on drug suspects in the country. Some of the questions asked by Nigerians are as followed: Did the United States-donated scanner at the Lagos airport detect the wrong particles inside the actor’s stomach? Did the two other scanners at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, detect the wrong particles as well? Were the scans doctored to incriminate the comedian? Was it a human error by the anti-narcotics official on duty that night? Was the official already exhausted at 10 p.m. when the actor came for scanning?
Or even, did NDLEA officials compromise? How long does it take to excrete ingested drugs? Can a drug trafficker eat but not excrete the drugs concealed in the stomach? Or was it black magic at play as some have insinuated?
Questions about the agency also abound. Is NDLEA an efficient agency? Does the agency need serious reforms? How long should the agency detain drug suspects before they are taken to court or released? What should be the legal framework be? What does the law say about detained drug suspects? Is the government serious about drug war in Nigeria? Does the agency have the right to take a suspect to the hospital during investigation?
These and other questions are likely to be the preoccupation of drug analysts for many months or years to come.

But the arrest and detention of the actor have given a rare glimpse into the activities and flaws in the war against drug trafficking in the country.
The drug drama started when Babatunde Omidina, popularly known as Baba Suwe, was arrested in the night of Wednesday, 12 October at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, southwest Nigeria, as he was about boarding an Air France flight to Paris, France.
He was detained after strange particles packed like hard drugs were allegedly detected in his stomach by the United States-donated scanning machine known as Soter RS.
The actor denied the allegations and threatened to sue NDLEA.
The NDLEA maintained that it will be vindicated when the actor’s wastes are analysed.
For two days, millions held their breath, expecting the first exhibit from the comedian’s wastes. Such wastes are usually tested by the NDLEA to exonerate or incriminate detained drug suspects after analysis.
But when the waste finally arrived in the night of 14 October, it bore no hint of drug ingestion. Public interest rose. Another round of waste yielded nothing. The third excretion was thus eagerly awaited, especially after Femi Ajayi, NDLEA Director-General, said in a television interview that suspects are usually released after a third excretion tests negative to drug ingestion.
On Monday night, the comedian produced the third waste sample, which also yielded nothing incriminating. Then began strident public clamour for his release. On the web, the NDLEA was slammed by angry Nigerians.
The next day, NDLEA’s Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, left many Nigerians confused, when he announced that the comedian still had to remain in detention.
“I can confirm that Baba Suwe is still under observation. He excreted for the third time last night and no drug was found. But he remains under observation.
“It will not end at the third excretion because it depends on body composition. For some people, it takes more time, more excretions. It really depends on the body of each individual,” Ofoyeju said.
The Lagos airport Commander of the NDLEA, Mr. Hamza Umar, disclosed that in previous arrests, some suspects expelled the drug at the fourth excretion.
As days passed, the arrest looked more like a comedy of errors, with many suggesting that the agency was in a quandary. Many called on the actor to sue the NDLEA. But Ajayi claimed the agency was only doing its job.
Members of the Association of Nigerian Theatre Practitioners, ANTP, led by its former president, Prince Jide Kosoko, also called for the immediate release of the comedian.
“It is surprising and quite unbelievable that after a week in the custody of NDLEA and after excreting about three times without the purported hard drugs found, the authorities of NDLEA have refused to release him.
“This has not only brought untold humiliation, bad press and unprecedented public outcry against Baba Suwe, it has even brought our industry and all the theatre practitioners into public odium. Everybody in our industry is now seen as a potential drug pusher,” Kosoko said at a press conference in Lagos.
The calls went unheeded. Now, it has taken the intervention of the court to free the actor.
During his detention, Baba Suwe’s lawyers and relatives were denied access to him for many days. The actor was taken to hospital several times without the knowledge of his lawyer or family members. He also claimed he was not fed on time.
The episode has thrown up a set of other questions. Is it not legal for suspected drug traffickers to have access to their lawyers and family members? Who pays for the food NDLEA gives suspects? Why does the agency serve the food late?
These questions will have to be answered if the war against drug trafficking and consumption in the country is to be successful.