‘Frivolous Suit’ Attempt to Remove Tinubu Fails as Supreme Court Rules

The Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Ambrose Owuru, the 2019 presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party, seeking the removal of President Bola Tinubu.

Owuru’s suit, which included allegations of ties to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and involvement in a drug-related case, was deemed baseless by a five-member panel of justices led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji. The court, in its ruling on Monday, described the case as frivolous and fined Owuru N5 million.

The court further directed its Registry to decline acceptance of any similar suits from the plaintiff in the future.

In his argument, Owuru accused President Tinubu of being an operative of the United States’ CIA and cited a prior forfeiture of $460,000 in a drug-related case as grounds for disqualification. He urged the court to apply Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to remove Tinubu from office.

Owuru also claimed he was the rightful winner of the 2019 presidential election, alleging that former President Muhammadu Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) manipulated the outcome of the polls. He insisted that a referendum conducted before the election had declared him the winner with over 50 million votes.

The Supreme Court dismissed the claims, emphasizing their lack of merit. Owuru had previously been fined N40 million by the Court of Appeal in May 2023 for filing a similar suit aimed at preventing Tinubu’s inauguration.