Appeal Court Adjourns For Judgement Suit Seeking To Stop Tinubu’s Inauguration Indefinitely

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday adjourned indefinitely a suit seeking to stop Bola Tinubu from being sworn-in as president on 29 May.

It comes barely 10 days to the scheduled swearing-in, a strict constitutional event any court would have hardly altered its dates on speculative grounds.

Mr Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won Nigeria’s 25 February presidential election, defeating former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Labour Party’s Peter Obi.

But a former presidential candidate of the defunct Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Ambrose Owuru, who claimed he was deprived of his victory in the 2019 election, filed a suit that asked for a court order to stop Mr Tinubu’s inauguration.

He urged the court to order him to be sworn in as president instead of Mr Tinubu to compensate for the injustice of depriving him of his acclaimed victory in 2019.

Mr Owuru, a serial presidential candidate, did not contest the 2023 presidential election. His party has been deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He lost at the Federal High Court, and then proceeded to appeal at the Court of Appeal.

After taking the arguments of lawyers to parties in the suit on Friday evening, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal headed by Jamil Tukur, adjourned indefinitely to deliver judgement.

Mr Tukur said a date for verdict would be sent to parties in the suit.

Buhari, AGF ignored proceedings
At the resumed proceedings on Friday, neither Mr Buhari nor the Attorney-General was represented in court.

Despite being served with a hearing notice, Mr Buhari whose second term as president ends on 29 May, did not file any court papers.

But the electoral umpire’s lawyer, Hassan Halilu, urged the court to dismiss the suit for being frivolous.

Mr Owuru claims to be the adjourned “constitutional winner” of the 2019 presidential election.

Mr Halilu further informed the court that Mr Owuru’s case “is baseless and irritating.”

Mr Tinubu’s lawyer, Adelani Ajibade from the law firm of Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, argued that Mr Owuru’s suit “is strange and baseless”.

He said the plaintiff’s case is bereft of merit and should be dismissed.

The lawyer informed the court that Mr Owuru’s claim to have won the 2019 had been dismissed by a Supreme Court judgment which nullified his petition filed challenging Mr Buhari’s victory.

Mr Ajibade prayed for a dismissal of the case with N20 million cost to be imposed on Mr Owuru and in favour of the respondents.

Owuru’s prayers
The plaintiff urged the court to stop Mr Buhari, the AGF and INEC taking steps to facilitate Mr Tinubu’s swearing-in in 10 days’ time.

Mr Owuru argued that neither Mr Tinubu nor anyone else should succeed Mr Buhari, because he has yet to serve his statutory term of four years as Nigeria’s president.

MR Owuru accused the outgoing president of usurping his tenure since 2019.

He falsely claimed that the Supreme Court had not determined his petition against Mr Buhari’s victory in 2019.

“An order of prohibitory injunction compelling Buhari, AGF and INEC, their servants, agents … from any further undertaking or engaging in any act of usurpation of adjudged acquired Constitutional rights and mandate as winner of the 2019 presidential election,” court filings showed Mr Owuru urging the court.

In addition, he sought an order directing and placing on notice that any form of handover inauguration, organized and superintended by Mr Buhari on 29 May 2023 outside his “adjudged winner” of the 2019 presidential election.

Meanwhile, the appellate court evicted Mr Owuru from the inner bar – the front section of the court exclusively reserved for Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs).

Upon filing into the courtroom on Friday, the appellate court panel sighted Mr Owuru seated in the reserved seat.

Mr Tukur who led the panel asked Mr Owuru to vacate the seat, wondering when he was conferred the prestigious title of a SAN.

Attempts by Mr Owuru to sway the justices to allow him hold on to the seat was rebuffed.

Mr Owuru was called to the Nigerian Bar 40 years ago.

The lawyer, despite his scanty votes in the previous election, had challenged the outgoing President Buhari’s victory in the 2019 election. His case failed spectacularly as it was dismissed by the Presidential Election Petition Court.

Mr Owuru pursued the case further to the Supreme Court which also dismissed the suit as “a gross abuse of court processes.”
============

For More News Join Our WhatsApp Group With This Link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/CdPVxGOPHCI5Kd4ALZduZ7