The Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed a case filed by Ambrose Owuru, the presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) in the 2019 general elections, seeking the removal of President Bola Tinubu.
In a unanimous ruling delivered by a five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the apex court declared the suit frivolous and imposed a N5 million fine on Owuru. The court also instructed its registry to reject any further frivolous originating summons from the plaintiff.
Owuru’s suit alleged that President Tinubu is an agent of the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which he argued disqualifies him from leading Nigeria. Additionally, the plaintiff referenced Tinubu’s 1993 forfeiture of $460,000 to the U.S. government in a drug-related case as grounds for disqualification. Owuru urged the court to invoke Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to remove Tinubu from office.
Representing himself during the hearing, Owuru further alleged that his 2019 presidential mandate was unlawfully hijacked by former President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he accused of colluding with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to manipulate the election results. According to Owuru, a referendum he claimed to have conducted before the postponed 2019 elections showed he had secured over 50 million votes, far more than any other candidate.
This is not the first time Owuru has faced penalties for his legal actions. In May 2023, the Court of Appeal fined him N40 million for filing what was deemed a frivolous lawsuit to stop Tinubu’s swearing-in.
The defendants in the case included Tinubu, former President Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation, and INEC.
