The Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Chief Ambrose Owuru, a former presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), seeking to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The apex court, in a unanimous ruling by a five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Musa Abba-Aji, imposed a fine of ₦5 million on Owuru for filing what it described as a frivolous and vexatious case.
Owuru had alleged that President Tinubu was unfit to hold office due to alleged ties to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and his earlier forfeiture of $460,000 in a drug-related case. He urged the court to invoke Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to disqualify Tinubu and declare him, Owuru, as the rightful president based on a purported referendum he claimed to have won in 2019 with over 50 million votes.
The panel not only dismissed Owuru’s claims but also barred the Supreme Court Registry from accepting any further frivolous originating summons from him. Justice Abba-Aji criticized Owuru’s conduct, describing it as unbecoming of a lawyer with over 40 years of experience, and warned that his name could be forwarded to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) for possible sanctions.
Owuru’s legal battles have been ongoing since 2019, with the Court of Appeal previously fining him ₦40 million for similar frivolous suits. He has repeatedly claimed that his mandate was hijacked by former President Muhammadu Buhari and that his earlier petition challenging Buhari’s tenure was unjustly dismissed due to a hearing date discrepancy.
The Supreme Court dismissed all of Owuru’s arguments, reinforcing its stance against abuse of the judicial process and emphasizing the need for legal practitioners to act with professionalism and respect for the rule of law.
