On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that a lawsuit to remove President Bola Tinubu from office was frivolous and vexatious.
The complaint filed by Chief Albert Owuru, a former presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), was deemed by a five-member panel of the highest court to be not only inept and without merit, but also a waste of the court’s valuable time.
The panel, which was presided over by Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji, later mandated that the appellant reimburse the president N5 million for the expense of defending the incompetent litigation.
Additionally, Owuru’s registry was instructed by the highest court to refrain from accepting any more pointless initiating summonses.
In a petition filed on March 7, 2019, Owuru and the HDP called for the election of President Muhammadu Buhari to be void on three grounds: that they were illegally excluded from the poll; that the poll on February 23 was unlawful, unconstitutional, and a nullity because INEC lacked the authority to change the results; and that a referendum held on February 16 declared him the victor.
However, the petition and appeal were rejected by the Supreme Court and the 2019 Presidential Election Tribunal due to its ineptitude and lack of merit.
Owuru was not content and filed a new lawsuit last year contesting President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration as the victor of the 2023 presidential election.
His action was justified by the Supreme Court’s ongoing lawsuit against the legitimate occupant of the seat of authority.
According to the philosophy of “Lis Pendens,” Tinubu is not yet eligible to hold the office of President of Nigeria, according to Owuru. He also asserted that the 2023 presidential election and its results are unlawful and pointless.
In the case, SC/CV/667/2023, Owuru asked the supreme court to remove Tinubu from office on two main grounds: that he was not qualified to serve as Nigeria’s president and that he had usurped the position illegally.
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Former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Tinubu were the first and fourth defendants in the lawsuit, respectively.
In addition, he requested that Tinubu be disqualified by the Supreme Court for allegedly forfeiting $460,000 to the United States of America for a drug trafficking-related offense.
In addition to the purported forfeiture, Owuru denied Tinubu’s eligibility to serve as Nigeria’s president by accusing him of being an active CIA agent.
Owuru specifically requested that the Supreme Court use Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to remove Tinubu from office on the basis that he was controlled by foreign powers.
Additionally, in an attempt to regain his purportedly hijacked mandate, Buhari requested that the Supreme Court declare him Nigeria’s president and order his quick inauguration.
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Owuru’s actions were, as he claimed, unworthy of a lawyer with more than 40 years of experience.
Additionally, he was chastised by the highest court for wasting its valuable time with a bogus lawsuit and egregiously abusing the legal system.
For bringing this lawsuit against Tinubu, INEC, and others, Owuru was already fined N40 million by the Court of Appeal.
