The Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to remove President Bola Tinubu from office.
The case was filed by Ambrose Owuru, the 2019 presidential candidate of the de-registered Hope Democratic Party (HDP). Owuru alleged that President Tinubu is an agent of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), making him unfit for office. He also referenced Tinubu’s earlier forfeiture of $460,000 in a drug-related case in the United States, calling for his disqualification. Owuru specifically prayed the court “to invoke section 157 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and oust Tinubu from office for being under the control of foreign authorities.”
In its unanimous decision, a five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji deemed the suit frivolous and fined Owuru ₦5 million. The court further directed its Registry not to accept any frivolous summons from the plaintiff in the future, warning, “The Registry of the Supreme Court not to accept any frivolous originating summons from the plaintiff again.”
Owuru, who represented himself in court, also joined former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants in the case.
The plaintiff claimed that he was the rightful winner of a referendum allegedly conducted ahead of the 2019 elections, securing over 50 million votes. He alleged that INEC manipulated the presidential election and that former President Buhari unlawfully took office, hijacking his mandate for eight years. Owuru argued, “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 to reclaim his usurped mandate.”
The Supreme Court rejected his arguments, maintaining that his claims lacked merit. This follows a previous judgment by the Court of Appeal earlier in 2023, which imposed a ₦40 million fine on Owuru for filing a similar “frivolous” suit to prevent Tinubu’s inauguration.
