The Supreme Court of Nigeria will convene on Monday, December 16, 2024, to deliberate on a fresh suit that could potentially see the removal of President Bola Tinubu from office. The case, SC/CV/667/2023, was filed by Chief Ambrose Albert Owuru, a former presidential candidate, and is challenging Tinubu’s qualification to hold the office of President.
Owuru, who contested the 2019 presidential election under the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), claims that he was the rightful winner of the election but was deprived of his mandate due to a mix-up in the Supreme Court’s hearing dates. He argues that Tinubu’s election is invalid, alleging that the President’s qualification is compromised by a past $460,000 forfeiture to the United States over a drug trafficking-related offense.
In addition to the forfeiture, Owuru also accuses Tinubu of being an active agent of the CIA, a claim he asserts should bar the President from holding office. Owuru is asking the Supreme Court to declare him as the legitimate winner of the 2019 election and to order his immediate inauguration.
The case, which has drawn significant attention, involves former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation, INEC, and Tinubu as the defendants. Legal experts anticipate that Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, may represent Tinubu in the proceedings.
In a related development, the Court of Appeal previously imposed a fine of N40 million on Owuru for filing a frivolous suit against Tinubu and others, but it remains unclear whether this fine was settled before the new action was filed.
The Supreme Court’s decision on the matter could have far-reaching consequences for Nigeria’s political landscape.
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