Ambrose Albert Owuru, a former presidential candidate, was fined N5 million by the Supreme Court in Abuja on Monday for bringing a baseless and vexatious lawsuit against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Owuru was ordered to give Tinubu the N5 million. Owuru ran against former President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election on the banner of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP).
While dismissing the former presidential candidate’s new lawsuit, Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji issued the order against him, pleading for Tinubu to be removed as Nigeria’s president.
In addition to the N5 million punishment, the supreme court directed its Registry to refrain from accepting any more pointless originating summonses from Owuru.
Wearing his wig and gown, Owuru attempted to make his own case during Monday’s sessions, claiming to be a lawyer who was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1984.
Before he could present his case, he was told to leave the Bar and take off his gown and wig.
Owuru was asked why he appeared in court once more after his claims were dismissed three times after he complied with the rulings.
He attempted to persuade the Apex Court to give him a sufficient hearing, but his arguments were dismissed as unpersuasive.
According to Justice Aba-Aji, Owuru’s actions were inappropriate for a lawyer with more than 40 years of experience, as he had claimed.
Ultimately, the court dismissed his lawsuit and mandated that he pay N5 million to Tinubu.
You may remember that Owuru was previously fined N40 million by the Court of Appeal for bringing a lawsuit against Tinubu, INEC, and others.
The new lawsuit, SC/CV/667/2023, asked the Apex Court to remove Tinubu from office on two main grounds: that he was not qualified to serve as President of Nigeria and that he had usurped the position illegally.
Tinubu was the first defendant in the case, followed by former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Minister of Justice.
British-trained attorney Owuru, who was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1984, maintained that he was the winner of the 2019 presidential election but claimed that Buhari had usurped his position for eight years.
He asserted that the Apex Court had officially dismissed his Supreme Court challenge, which would have forced Buhari out of office, because the hearing dates had been mixed up.
Additionally, he asked the Apex Court to disqualify Tinubu for allegedly forfeiting $460,000 to the US on a drug trafficking-related offense.
Owuru argued that Tinubu was unable to serve as President of Nigeria due to his involvement as an active CIA agent, in addition to the purported forfeiture.
Owuru specifically asked the Supreme Court to use Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to overthrow Tinubu because he was controlled by foreign powers.
In order to recover his purportedly usurped mandate, he further requested that the Supreme Court declare him Nigeria’s president and order his prompt inauguration.
