S’Court dismisses disqualification suit against Tinubu, fines ex-presidential candidate N5m
The Supreme Court has dismissed a suit by a presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Ambrose Owuru, seeking to disqualify President Bola Tinubu for alleged conviction in drug trafficking in the United States.
In the judgement delivered on Monday by Justice Unai Musa Aba-Aji, the Supreme Court also fined Owuru N5 million for bringing a frivolous and vexatious suit.
Owuru, who contested the 2019 presidential election against former President Muhammadu Buhari on the platform of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), brought the latest suit contending that Tinubu ought to be disqualified for forfeiting $460,000 in a drug-related case in the USA.
Owuru asked the apex court to invoke Section 157 of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999 to remove the president from office on account of being under the control of foreign authorities.
In her ruling, Justice Aba-Aji directed Owuru, who was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1982, to remove his wig and gown before being allowed to argue his case.
He was subsequently asked to explain why he approached the court again, having had his similar suits dismissed three times.
Although he tried unsuccessfully to convince the apex court to grant him an adequate audience, the panel dismissed his explanations and threatened to refer him to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) having behaved in a manner unbecoming of a lawyer of over 40 years standing.
Earlier, counsel for the president, Bode Olanipekun (SAN) drew the attention of the court to several cases of Owuru that were dismissed for being frivolous, adding that the conduct of the applicant had become something unbearable in the practice of the law profession.
In his response, a professor of law, Taiwo Osipitan, assured that the conduct of the former presidential candidate would be referred to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
Recall that the Court of Appeal had previously imposed a fine of N40 million on Owuru, to be paid to Tinubu, INEC, and others, for filing a suit against them.
