Supreme Court dismisses suit against Tinubu over drug, CIA claims
The Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit seeking the removal of President Bola Tinubu from office.
The suit, filed by Ambrose Owuru, the presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party in the 2019 general election, aimed to oust Tinubu based on allegations involving the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and drug-related issues.
In a unanimous decision, a five-member panel of justices led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji ruled that the lawsuit was frivolous and ordered Owuru to pay a fine of N5 million. The court also directed the Supreme Court Registry not to accept any future frivolous cases from the plaintiff.
Owuru’s legal action, filed directly at the apex court, accused President Tinubu of being an active CIA agent, a claim he argued made Tinubu unfit to hold the presidency. Additionally, Owuru requested the court to disqualify Tinubu due to his alleged forfeiture of $460,000 in a drug-related case in the U.S., urging the court to invoke Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to remove him from office for allegedly being under foreign control.
Owuru, whose party (HDP) had been deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), filed the suit marked SC/CV/667/2023, naming former President Muhammadu Buhari as a defendant.
When the case was heard, Owuru represented himself in court. The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal had previously fined Owuru N40 million in May 2023 for filing a similar “frivolous” suit to prevent Tinubu’s inauguration. He had also attempted to stop Buhari’s swearing-in, claiming that the 2019 election was manipulated after INEC postponed the vote. Owuru argued that he was the rightful winner of a referendum and the 2019 presidential election, even though INEC had declared Buhari the victor.
Owuru maintained that Buhari’s tenure was illegal and that he should be recognized as the true winner of the 2019 election. He asked the Supreme Court to declare him president following Tinubu’s disqualification and to order his immediate inauguration to reclaim what he believed was his stolen mandate.
The suit also named the Attorney General of the Federation and INEC as defendants.
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at NeptunePrime.
Follow the Neptune Prime channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va74ZvU2v1IqKByXoX3d
Do you have breaking news, interview request, opinion, suggestion, or want your event covered? Email us at neptuneprime2233@gmail.com
