The Supreme Court has dismissed a suit filed by Ambrose Owuru, the 2019 presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), seeking the removal of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over alleged drug and CIA-related claims.
In a ruling delivered on Monday, December 16, 2024, a five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji described the case as frivolous, fining Owuru ₦5 million. The court further warned its registry against accepting such suits from the plaintiff in the future.
Owuru, who represented himself in court, alleged that Tinubu’s ties to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a previous $460,000 forfeiture in a drug-related case made him unfit for office. He also sought to invoke Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution to disqualify Tinubu and requested to be declared president.
The panel criticized Owuru for repeatedly filing baseless suits, despite earlier dismissals, and threatened to forward his name to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) for sanctions, citing unprofessional conduct unbecoming of a lawyer with over 40 years of practice.
This is not Owuru’s first legal battle over the presidency. He previously claimed to have won a referendum preceding the 2019 election, alleging his mandate was hijacked by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. In May 2023, the Court of Appeal fined Owuru ₦40 million for filing a similar suit to stop Tinubu’s swearing-in.
The Supreme Court’s latest decision marks another dismissal of Owuru’s attempts to challenge Nigeria’s presidential leadership.
