By Abiola Olawale
The Supreme Court, on Monday levied a fine of N5 million against Ambrose Albert Owuru, a former presidential candidate.
The ruling was in response to Owuru’s initiation of a legal suit that the court classified as frivolous and vexatious, aimed at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The apex court found that Owuru’s actions constituted harassment and represented an inappropriate use of the judicial system.
The New Diplomat reports that Owuru contested the 2019 presidential election against former President Muhammadu Buhari on the platform of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP).
It would be recalled that in a suit marked SC/CV/667/2023, Owuru prayed to the Apex Court to sack Tinubu on two major grounds: alleged non-qualification to hold office as Nigeria’s President and alleged usurpation of the office in contravention of the law.
Owuru, a British-trained lawyer called to the Nigerian Bar in 1984, insisted that he won the 2019 presidential election but alleged that his tenure was usurped by Buhari for eight years.
He claimed that his suit at the Supreme Court, which would have removed Buhari from office, was technically jettisoned by the Apex Court due to a mix-up in hearing dates.
He also prayed the Apex Court to disqualify Tinubu on account of the forfeiture of $460,000 to the United States of America over an alleged drug trafficking-related offence.
Owuru accused Tinubu of being an active agent of the CIA, a position he claimed disqualified Tinubu from holding the office of President of Nigeria.
However, the presiding judge, Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji, threw away the case and slammed an N5 million fine against the former presidential candidate.
The judge also ordered its Registry not to accept any frivolous originating summons from Owuru again.
