The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a suit seeking to remove President Bola Tinubu from office. The court also imposed a fine of ₦5 million on the plaintiff, Chief Ambrose Owuru, the 2019 presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP).
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Musa Abba-Aji, the court described the case as frivolous and warned its registry against entertaining similar suits from the plaintiff in the future.
Owuru alleged that Tinubu was unfit for office, claiming he is an agent of the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and had forfeited $460,000 in a drug-related case in the U.S. He argued that Tinubu’s ties to foreign authorities rendered him unqualified to hold the presidency. Owuru also called for the Supreme Court to apply Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to disqualify Tinubu.
Furthermore, Owuru accused former President Muhammadu Buhari of unlawfully holding office after allegedly hijacking his mandate as the supposed winner of the 2019 presidential election. The plaintiff claimed that Buhari’s tenure was illegal and sought to have himself declared the rightful president.
Despite presenting his arguments in court, Owuru faced sharp criticism from the justices, who noted his repeated filing of baseless suits. Justice Abba-Aji chastised the plaintiff for acting inappropriately for a lawyer with over 40 years of legal experience.
Beyond the fine, the panel hinted at possible disciplinary action against Owuru, threatening to forward his name to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).
It is noteworthy that Owuru has previously faced penalties for similar actions. In May 2023, the Court of Appeal fined him ₦40 million for attempting to halt Tinubu’s inauguration.
Owuru’s claims included allegations of a manipulated 2019 election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which he said had announced a last-minute postponement to favor Buhari. He also argued that he had won a referendum conducted before the rescheduled election, amassing over 50 million votes.
Despite numerous appeals, the courts have consistently rejected his petitions, including his attempts to block Tinubu’s swearing-in in 2023. The Supreme Court dismissed his latest case, affirming that Tinubu remains the duly elected president of Nigeria.
