BREAKING: Supreme Court fines ex-Presidential candidate N5m Over frivolous suit against Tinubu

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has imposed a fine of N5 million on Ambrose Albert Owuru, a former presidential candidate, for filing what it described as a frivolous and vexatious lawsuit against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Delivering the judgment in Abuja on Monday, Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji dismissed Owuru’s suit, which sought to remove Tinubu from office. The court also directed its registry to reject any future frivolous originating summons from Owuru.

Owuru, who ran for president in 2019 under the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), claimed he won the election and that his mandate was usurped by former President Muhammadu Buhari. In his recent suit, marked SC/CV/667/2023, Owuru argued that Tinubu was unqualified to hold the presidency, citing alleged forfeiture of $460,000 in the U.S. over a drug-related case and purported connections to foreign intelligence agencies.

The Supreme Court dismissed these allegations as baseless. Justice Aba-Aji criticized Owuru’s conduct as unbecoming of a lawyer of over 40 years and warned of possible disciplinary action by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).

During the proceedings, Owuru, who initially appeared in court dressed in his lawyer’s wig and gown, was ordered to remove them before being allowed to argue his case. The court rejected his explanations for re-litigating previously dismissed cases, describing his actions as an abuse of judicial processes.

Bode Olanipekun SAN, representing Tinubu, highlighted that Owuru had a history of filing frivolous cases. He noted that the Court of Appeal had previously fined Owuru N40 million for similar conduct. In addition, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Taiwo Osipitan assured the court that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) would be notified of Owuru’s actions for further scrutiny.