Nigerian Appeal Court Fines Ex-Presidential Candidate N40Million For Seeking To Stop Tinubu’s Inauguration
The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Tinubu as the winner of February 25, 2023 presidential election, beating former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party to second and third places respectively.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has imposed a N40 million fine on a former presidential candidate, Ambrose Owuru, for filing a frivolous suit seeking to prevent the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as President on May 29 inauguration.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Tinubu as the winner of February 25, 2023 presidential election, beating former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party to second and third places respectively.
On Thursday, a three-member panel of the court unanimously held that the appeal filed by Owuru and his party, the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) amounted to an abuse of the court process.
The appellate court ordered the Abuja-based lawyer to pay a fine of N10 million each to President Muhammadu Buhari; Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF); INEC, and Tinubu, the 1st to 4th defendants in the matter.
Justice Jamil Tukur held that the appeal was seeking from the court a review of a decision already determined by the court on August 22, 2019.
The judge noted that the Supreme Court had also heard the case and given judgement on October 28, 2019.
He noted that it was dismissed for want of merit.
Justice Tukur held that it was an abuse of the judicial process for Owuru and his party to seek to want to have the matter relitigated after it had been decided by the apex court.
Justice Tukur held that Owuru embarked on gross abuse of the court process by filing a frivolous, vexatious and irritating suit to provoke the respondents.
He upheld the January 30 judgment by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja which earlier dismissed the case for being an abuse of court process.
Justice Tukur proceeded to dismiss the appeal and ordered Owuru to pay each of the respondents N10 million in cost.
The election petition court, while dismissing Owuru’s petition in its August 22, 2019 judgment, held among others that the issue of referendum raised in the petition did not form a ground to challenge the outcome of an election.
