On Monday, the Supreme Court in Abuja imposed a N5 million penalty on Ambrose Albert Owuru, a former presidential candidate, for submitting a baseless and vexatious lawsuit against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Owuru, who contested the 2019 presidential election under the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) against former President Muhammadu Buhari, was ordered to pay the fine to Tinubu following the court’s dismissal of his latest attempt to have the president removed from office.
Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji delivered the ruling, underscoring that Owuru’s legal actions were an undue drain on judicial resources.
In addition to the fine, the court directed that no further frivolous lawsuits from Owuru would be entertained by the court’s registry.
At the hearing, Owuru, who claimed to be a lawyer with over 40 years of experience, attempted to represent himself in court while dressed in his legal attire, including a wig and gown.
The court promptly instructed him to remove them, stating that his actions were inappropriate for someone of his professional standing.
Despite his efforts to present his case, Owuru failed to provide convincing arguments, leading the court to dismiss his suit.
Justice Aba-Aji criticized Owuru’s behavior, which she deemed unbecoming of an experienced legal professional.
This is not the first time Owuru has been penalized for his persistent legal challenges.
The Court of Appeal had previously imposed a N40 million fine on him, which was to be paid to Tinubu, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and others, for initiating a groundless suit.
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Owuru’s new petition, registered as SC/CV/667/2023, sought to remove Tinubu based on allegations that the president was unqualified and had illegally seized office.
The lawsuit named former President Buhari, the Attorney General, INEC, and Tinubu as defendants.
Owuru, a British-trained lawyer, maintained that he was the rightful winner of the 2019 election, which he claimed was stolen from him by Buhari’s eight-year presidency.
He argued that his previous case against Buhari, aimed at removing him from office, was dismissed due to a clerical error related to the hearing dates. Additionally, Owuru accused Tinubu of being ineligible to serve due to a $460,000 forfeiture linked to an alleged drug trafficking offense in the United States.
He also alleged that Tinubu had ties to the CIA, which he argued disqualified him from leading Nigeria.
Owuru went as far as requesting the Supreme Court to invoke Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to remove Tinubu, asserting that the president was under foreign influence.
He also sought the court to declare him the rightful president and order his immediate inauguration to reclaim his supposed stolen mandate. However, the court found these claims baseless and dismissed his suit, reaffirming its previous stance on the matter.
