The Court of Appeal sitting in, Lagos on Friday adjourned till April 8, 2013, to hear the appeal by National Drug
Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, against a judgment debt of N25m ordered against it in favour of Nollywood actor, Mr Babatunde Omidina, popularly known as Baba Suwe in 2011.
A Lagos High Court, Ikeja had in a judgment in the suit by Baba Suwe on November 24, 2011, ordered the agency to pay Baba Suwe N25m for detaining him beyond the legal time limit on a suspicion of drug ingestion, without any evidence that he ingested any narcotic, as he did not excrete any of such substance throughout the period of his incarceration.
Baba Suwe was arrested by NDLEA men at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on the October 12, 2011.
The Lagos High Court held that the detention of the actor and the ill treatment meted on him while in custody violated his constitutionally-guaranteed rights.
The lower court also ordered the agency to apologise to the actor publicly in conspicuous pages of two national dailies.
Hearing in the appeal, could not go on Friday, as presiding judge, Justice Chima Nweze noted that the appeal was wrongly listed for motion instead of arguments.
NDLEA in the appeal, is praying the court to set aside the judgment, on the grounds, that the award of N25m in favour of Baba Suwe was arbitrary, further arguing that the trial court wrongly assumed jurisdiction to hear the suit.
The agency is contending that keeping the respondent in custody between October 12 and 21, 2011, on the suspicion of drug ingestion, did not violate his rights. [VN]
