Supreme Court to decide fresh suit seeking Tinubu’s disqualification today

Supreme Court to decide fresh suit seeking Tinubu’s disqualification today

A former presidential candidate, Chief Ambrose Owuru, has approached the Supreme Court, praying it to sack President Bola Tinubu from office.

Owuru, who was the presidential flag-bearer of the Hope Democratic Party, HDP, in the 2019 general election, in the legal action he filed directly at the apex court, among other things, maintained that president Tinubu is an active agent of the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, of the United States of America, USA, a position he said made him unifit to occupy the presidential seat.

The plaintiff equally urged the apex court to disqualify Tinubu on the account that he had earlier forfeited the sum of $460,000 to the government of the USA, in a drug related case.

He specifically prayed the Supreme Court to invoke section 157 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and oust Tinubu from office for being under the control of foreign authorities.

Besides, Owuru, whose political party, HDP, had since been re-registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in his suit marked: SC/CV/667/2023, joined ex-President Muhammadu Buhari as a defendant in the matter.

According to the British-trained lawyer who was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1982, ex-President Buhari’s tenure was illegal.

Owuru alleged that though he was the valid winner of the 2019 presidential poll, Buhari highjacked his mandate and piloted affairs of the country for eight years.

He claimed that a suit he earlier lodged before the apex court to kick Buhari out of office, was technically jettisoned by the court due to a mix-up in the hearing dates.

Consequently, he argued that upon the disqualification of Tinubu for being unfit to hold the top job, the apex court should pronounce him as President and order his immediate inauguration to enable him reclaim his usurped mandate.

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Aside from Tinubu and Buhari, other Defendants in the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has fixed Monday, December 16, to hear the matter.

A hearing notice the court issued to the parties, a copy of which was sighted by Chronicle NG, read: “Please kindly take note that SC/CV/667/2023 Chief Ambrose Albert Owuru & Anor VS President Muhammadu Buhari & 3 Ors at the Supreme Court of Nigeria sitting at Abuja is slated for the hearing of Motions on Monday 16/12/2024.

“Thanks, Ukor Michael Akan, for: the Hon. Chief Registrar.”

It will be recalled that the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal had on May 25, 2023, imposed a N40million fine against the plaintiff for filling “frivolous” suit to stop Tinubu from being sworn in as President.

Owuru had also attempted to stop ex-President Buhari’s swearing-in.

He claimed that INEC assisted President Buhari to manipulate the outcome of the 2019 presidential election.

He contended that though the election was originally fixed for February 16, 2019, the INEC, about five hours to the commencement of the poll, announced a postponement, and later held the electoral exercise on February 23, 2019.

Owuru claimed that prior to the postponment, he had emerged as the winner of a referendum he said was conducted and monitored by both foreign and local organizations.

He told the court that he had at the end of the said referendum, garnered over 50 million votes, which he said was far and above the number of votes that other candidates that contested the presidential election, including Buhari, secured.

Owuru argued that the petition he lodged against Buhari after the election was not adjudicated upon by the Supreme Court as required by law.

He claimed that his petition was unjustly dismissed by the apex court following his absence that was occasioned by discrepancy in the hearing date that was served to him.

He, therefore, urged the high court to validate his case by removing Buhari and declaring him the President.

He further applied for an order to compel President Buhari to refund all monies he “illegally” collected as salaries, emoluments and security votes.

More so, the plaintiff prayed the court to halt the 2023 presidential election and order his immediate swearing in as President for a four-year tenure of office.

Following the dismissal of his case and the conduct of the presidential election on February 25, Owuru, approached the appellate court to stop the swearing-in of the then President-elect, Tinubu, a prayer the court refused.

 

Supreme Court to decide fresh suit seeking Tinubu’s disqualification today