A former Hope Democratic Party (HDP) presidential candidate, Ambrose Albert Owuru has been fined ₦5 million by the Supreme Court in Abuja for harassing President Bola Tinubu with a frivolous and vexatious case.
Owuru, who contested against former President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election, was ordered to give Tinubu the ₦5 million.
This order was given by Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji when he dismissed Owuru’s most recent lawsuit, which called for Tinubu to be removed from office as president of Nigeria.
Along with the financial fine, the Supreme Court directed its Registry to deny Owuru any more baseless originating summonses.
Owuru, who claimed to be an attorney admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1984, made an effort to represent himself while wearing his wig and gown. He was subsequently ordered to leave the courtroom and to remove his wig and gown before being permitted to present his case.
Owuru was questioned about his frequent court appearances after following the court’s directives, considering that his prior lawsuits had been rejected three times. He tried to get the Supreme Court to consider his views, but his justifications were rejected.
Owuru’s actions were unsuitable for someone who claimed to have more than 40 years of legal experience, said Justice Aba-Aji.
In the end, the court ordered him to pay Tinubu ₦5 million and dismissed his lawsuit.
Because Owuru filed a complaint against Tinubu, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and other parties, the Court of Appeal previously fined him ₦40 million, which he must pay to them.
The new case, designated SC/CV/667/2023, requests that the Supreme Court remove Tinubu from office based on two primary allegations: his purported disqualification to serve as Nigeria’s President and the claimed unlawful assumption of the office in violation of legal statutes.
The defendants in this case include former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Tinubu, listed as the first to fourth defendants, respectively.
Owuru, a lawyer trained in the United Kingdom and admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1984, maintains that he was the rightful winner of the 2019 presidential election, asserting that Buhari unlawfully occupied the presidency for eight years.
He contends that his case at the Supreme Court, which had the potential to oust Buhari from power, was effectively dismissed by the court due to an error in scheduling the hearings.
Additionally, he has requested that the Supreme Court disqualify Tinubu on the basis of the forfeiture of $460,000 to the United States related to an alleged drug trafficking offence.
In addition to the forfeiture claim, Owuru has charged Tinubu with being a CIA agent, which he claims disqualifies Tinubu from holding the office of president of Nigeria.
Citing Tinubu’s apparent submission to foreign powers, Owuru has specifically petitioned the Supreme Court to use Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to remove him from office.
In order to regain his allegedly seized mandate, Owuru has also asked the Supreme Court to declare him Nigeria’s president and order his quick inauguration.
