The Supreme Court in Abuja has imposed a N5 million fine on Ambrose Albert Owuru, a former presidential candidate, for filing a frivolous and vexatious suit aimed at removing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from office.
Owuru, who ran for president in 2019 under the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) against former President Muhammadu Buhari, was ordered to pay the fine to Tinubu.
The ruling was delivered on Monday by Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji, who dismissed Owuru’s suit.
Additionally, the Supreme Court directed its Registry to refuse any future frivolous originating summons from Owuru.
During the proceedings, Owuru, a lawyer who claimed to have been called to the Nigerian Bar in 1984, attempted to represent himself in court while wearing his wig and gown.
However, he was ordered to remove the wig and gown before being allowed to proceed with his case.
When questioned about why he had brought the suit despite having had similar suits dismissed three times, Owuru’s explanations were deemed unconvincing by the court.
Justice Aba-Aji criticized Owuru’s conduct, calling it unbecoming of a lawyer with over 40 years of experience.
This is not the first time Owuru is facing legal consequences for his actions.
In a previous case, the Court of Appeal had imposed a N40 million fine on him, to be paid to Tinubu, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and others, for filing a suit against them.
The fresh suit with the number SC/CV/667/2023, sought to remove Tinubu from office on two grounds: that he was allegedly unqualified to be president and that he had unlawfully usurped the presidency.
The defendants in the case included former President Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation, INEC, and Tinubu.
Owuru, a British-trained lawyer, insisted that he had won the 2019 election but was denied his mandate when Buhari occupied the presidency for eight years.
He also claimed that the Supreme Court had dismissed his earlier suit against Buhari due to a mix-up in hearing dates.
Owuru accused Tinubu of being disqualified from holding the office of president due to the forfeiture of $460,000 to the United States over an alleged drug trafficking offense.
He also alleged that Tinubu was an agent of the CIA, which he claimed made him ineligible to hold the position of Nigeria’s president.
Owuru sought to have the Supreme Court invoke Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to remove Tinubu from office on the grounds that he was under foreign influence and control.
Owuru had also requested the Supreme Court to declare him the rightful president of Nigeria and order his immediate inauguration to reclaim his alleged mandate.
However, the court dismissed the suit.
