The supreme court has dismissed the suit filed by Ambrose Owuru, presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) in the 2019 election, seeking to President Bola Tinubu from office.
On Monday, a five-member panel of the apex court led by Uwani Aba-Aji imposed a N5 million fine on Owuru for filing “frivolous and vexatious” suit.
Aba-Aji ordered the court’s registry not to accept any “frivolous” originating summons from Owuru again.
The judge criticised Owuru for “taking the apex court for granted” while “wasting the precious time of the court with baseless suits”.
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DRAMA IN COURT
During the court’s proceedings, Owuru, who claimed to be a lawyer, appeared in his wig and gown and attempted to argue his own case as a counsel.
The supreme court judges directed him to remove his wig and gown before he would be allowed to argue his own case.
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After complying with the order, Owuru was asked why he appeared before the court again after his suits had been dismissed repeatedly.
Owuru asked the judges to grant him the opportunity to argue his case and explain his reasons for the suit.
His explanations were rejected as unconvincing.
Earlier, Bode Olanipekun, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who appeared for Tinubu, told the court the numbers of “frivolous” cases filed by Owuru.
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Olanipekun said that the intention behind the fresh suit was unclear because of the flawed way it was structured by the applicant.
He said it is hard for him to apologise to the court on behalf of Owuru due to his conduct, which is unacceptable in the legal profession.
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