The Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit seeking the removal of President Bola Tinubu from office, describing the suit as frivolous and without merit. The court also imposed a fine of N5 million on the plaintiff, Ambrose Owuru, who was the presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP).
Owuru’s suit alleged that President Tinubu’s alleged ties to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and previous forfeiture of $460,000 in a US drug-related case made him unfit to hold Nigeria’s highest office.
He invoked Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), arguing that Tinubu’s alleged connection to foreign authorities compromised his ability to perform his duties as President effectively.
The case, filed under suit number SC/CV/667/2023, also included former President Muhammadu Buhari as a respondent. Owuru contended that Buhari’s tenure as President was unconstitutional, claiming that he (Owuru) was the rightful winner of the 2019 presidential election. He argued that Buhari usurped his mandate and governed Nigeria unlawfully for eight years.
Owuru further alleged that his earlier suit to remove Buhari was inadvertently dismissed by the Supreme Court due to a scheduling mix-up. He maintained that this technical error obstructed justice and allowed Buhari to remain in office illegally.
In his prayers, Owuru asked the Supreme Court to disqualify President Tinubu, declare him (Owuru) as President, and order his immediate inauguration. He insisted that this would rectify the injustice and allow him to reclaim what he called his “usurped mandate.”
The respondents in the suit included President Bola Tinubu, former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Supreme Court, however, found the suit to be baseless and dismissed it, further penalizing Owuru with a N5 million fine for abusing the judicial process.
