The Supreme Court has imposed a N5 million fine on former presidential candidate Ambrose Owuru for filing frivolous and vexatious suits against President Bola Tinubu.
Owuru, who contested the 2019 presidential election under the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) against former President Muhammadu Buhari, was ordered to pay N5 million to Tinubu. Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji issued the ruling while dismissing his latest suit, which sought the removal of Tinubu from office.
In addition to the fine, the court instructed its Registry not to accept any further frivolous summons originating from Owuru.
During the proceedings, Owuru, who claimed to be a lawyer called to the Nigerian Bar in 1984, appeared in court wearing his wig and gown. He was ordered to remove them before being allowed to argue his case.
After complying with the court’s order, Owuru was questioned about his repeated filings, as his previous suits had been dismissed on similar grounds. Despite attempts to convince the court, his explanations were deemed unconvincing, leading the court to threaten referring him to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).
Justice Aba-Aji criticized Owuru’s conduct, calling it unbecoming of a lawyer with over 40 years of practice, as he claimed to be. The court dismissed his suit, ordering him to pay the N5 million fine to President Tinubu.
The court condemned Owuru for wasting the Supreme Court’s time with baseless suits, which it described as a gross abuse of legal processes.
Bode Olanipekun SAN, representing President Tinubu, pointed out that Owuru had filed multiple frivolous cases, all of which had been dismissed. He also noted that the new suit was difficult to comprehend due to its poorly drafted nature.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Taiwo Osipitan, a professor of law, stated that Owuru’s conduct would be referred to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
Earlier, the Court of Appeal had imposed a N40 million fine on Owuru for filing a suit against Tinubu, INEC, and others.
Owuru’s new suit sought to have Tinubu removed on the grounds of alleged non-qualification to hold office and alleged illegal usurpation of the presidency. He also claimed that Tinubu’s alleged forfeiture of $460,000 to the U.S. over a drug-related offense disqualified him from office, along with accusations that Tinubu was an active agent of the CIA. Owuru requested the Supreme Court to invoke Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to remove Tinubu, declare him the legitimate president, and order his immediate inauguration to reclaim his purportedly usurped mandate.
