Supreme Court imposes N5m fine against ex-presidential candidate over frivolous suit against Tinubu

The Supreme Court, on Monday, awarded a N5 million fine against Mr Ambrose Owuru, a former presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections, for filing a suit described as “frivolous and vexatious” against President Bola Tinubu.
The five-member panel of justices, in a judgment read by Justice Uwani Aba-Aji, also ordered the court registry not to accept any frivolous suit from Owuru henceforth.
Owuru, a British-trained lawyer, was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1982.
He was the presidential candidate of the defunct Hope Democratic Party (HDP) in the 2019 presidential poll.
In the suit marked: SC/CV/667/2023, Owuru had prayed the apex court to sack Tinubu on two major grounds of alleged non-qualification to hold office and usurpation of the same office against the law of the country.
The lawyer, who filed the suit directly at the Supreme Court, sued former President Muhammadu Buhari, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Tinubu as 1st to 4th defendants respectively.
The plaintiff insisted that he won the 2019 presidential poll but that his tenure was allegedly usurped by Buhari for eight years.
He claimed that his suit at the Supreme Court, which would have kicked Buhari out of office, was technically jettisoned by the apex court due to mix-up in the hearing dates.
When the case was called on Monday, Owuru stood to argue his own case wearing his wig and gown.
He was, however, ordered out of the Bar and directed to remove his wig and gown before he could be allowed to argue his case.
Upon complying with the orders, Owuru was asked why he came before the court again, having had his suits dismissed three times.
Although he tried unsuccessfully to convince the Apex Court to grant him adequate audience, his explanations were rejected as unconvincing.
Following his recalcitrant, the court threatened to refer him to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).
Justice Aba-Aji, in the ruling, held that Owuru’s conduct was unbecoming of a lawyer of over 40 years, as he claimed to be.
The apex court lambasted him for taking the court for a ride, wasting its precious time with baseless suit and grossly abusing the court processes.
Before the suit was thrown out, Bode Olanipekun, SAN, who appeared for President Tinubu, had drawn the attention of the court to several cases of Owuru that were dismissed on account of frivolity.
The senior lawyer said that the direction of the instant suit could not be understood because of the poor way and manner it was couched by the applicant.
Olanipekun also said that it was difficult for him to apologise to the court on behalf of Owuru because the conduct of the applicant had become something unbearable in the practice of law profession.
The judge consequently dismissed the suit and awarded N5 million against him and in favour of Tinubu
In his response, a professor of law, Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, who was also in court, assured that the conduct of the former presidential candidate would be referred to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
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.