JUST IN: Supreme Court Rules on Suit Seeking to Sack Tinubu, Fines Petitioner N5m

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has imposed a fine of N5 million on former presidential candidate Ambrose Albert Owuru for filing a frivolous and vexatious suit against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The ruling, delivered on Monday in Abuja, dismissed Owuru’s fresh application seeking the removal of Tinubu from office.

Owuru, who contested the 2019 presidential election on the platform of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), was ordered to pay the fine directly to Tinubu. Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji, in her judgment, criticized Owuru’s repeated legal actions as an abuse of judicial processes and directed the Supreme Court Registry to reject any future frivolous originating summons from him.

During the proceedings, Owuru, a British-trained lawyer called to the Nigerian Bar in 1984, attempted to represent himself in court wearing his wig and gown. He was promptly instructed to remove them before being allowed to argue his case. When questioned about his repeated filings, despite prior dismissals, Owuru’s explanations failed to convince the court.

Justice Aba-Aji described Owuru’s behavior as unbecoming of a lawyer with over four decades of experience. After rejecting his arguments, the court dismissed the suit and reaffirmed the N5 million fine.

Owuru’s legal challenges are not new. Earlier, the Court of Appeal had imposed a N40 million fine on him for filing a suit against Tinubu, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and others. The latest case, marked SC/CV/667/2023, sought Tinubu’s removal on grounds of alleged non-qualification and usurpation of office.

Owuru had argued that he won the 2019 presidential election and accused former President Muhammadu Buhari of unlawfully holding office for eight years, claiming that his tenure was usurped. He further alleged that the Supreme Court had failed to address his earlier suit against Buhari due to a scheduling mix-up.

In the current case, Owuru also raised allegations against Tinubu, including a $460,000 forfeiture to U.S. authorities over a purported drug-related offense and an alleged connection to the CIA, which he claimed disqualified Tinubu from holding office. He requested the court to invoke Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to disqualify Tinubu, declare himself the rightful president, and order his immediate inauguration.

The court rejected all his claims, reaffirming that the suit lacked merit.