Legendary Nigerian comic actor, Babatunde Omidina, fondly called Baba Suwe, has been confirmed dead.
He was 63-years-old.
His death was confirmed by his son Adesola Omidina, on his official Instagram page @Omo_Omidina on Monday.
“This is to announce the sudden death of my father Mr. Babatunde Omidina. The legend and rare gem “ Babasuwe ° Other details will follow shortly! May your soul rest in perfect peace Dad,” Adesola said in the post.
The comic actor has been suffering a partial stroke since his ordeal with the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA) ten years ago.
In 2011, the veteran thespian was arrested by the NDLEA with claims that he was in possession of substances suspected to be cocaine.
He was accused of drug trafficking by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, an allegation that was described as false and defamatory by the ruling of the Lagos high court of law.
The late actor said injections given to him in NDLEA detention to defecate the suspected substances crippled him after which he was found not to be in possession of hard drugs.
In an interview in June with news men, he had said “I have not forgotten about my issue with the NDLEA and I will never forget because I am still bearing the pains and suffering from that encounter. I am still affected by the inflictions they meted on me at that time.
“As I speak with you, I cannot walk with both my legs. Just to visit the toilet in my room, I have to be carried there. Even using the toilet is a problem as well.
“Although I travel abroad for medical check-up, my body is still not okay at all. As I said, I cannot walk to my toilet at all without assistance. This development began about a week or two ago. Before then, I hardly walk properly and anyone who sees me would know that I have difficulty walking.”
The veteran actor, while narrating his experience in the hands of the NDLEA personnel, said, “When I was in the custody of the NDLEA, they searched me, injected me, asked me to go to the toilet, but they never found any cocaine inside my system. I defecated there and they did not see anything.
Omidina began his acting career in 1971 and came into limelight after he featured in a movie titled, Omolasan.
He became more popular after he featured in Iru Esin in 1997.
