President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is now facing a legal battle in the Supreme Court, accused of unlawfully presenting himself for inauguration as President despite an ongoing legal dispute surrounding the conduct of the 2023 presidential poll.
Chief Albert Ambrose Owuru, a presidential candidate in the 2019 general election, has brought the case before the Apex Court, invoking the doctrine of Lis Pendens. Owuru is urging the Supreme Court to nullify Tinubu’s inauguration as the winner of the 2023 presidential poll.
Owuru, a Constitutional lawyer, argues that the presidential election that produced Tinubu was an exercise in futility and illegal self-help, given his unresolved suit against Tinubu and others at the Supreme Court. The pending Supreme Court suit (No. SC/667/2023) has Chief A.A. Owuru and Hope Democratic Party as Appellants, with Respondents including former President Muhammadu Buhari, AGF, INEC, and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Owuru contends that Tinubu’s declaration as President by INEC undermines the Supreme Court and established law due to lis pendens. He asserts that since Tinubu is a party in the ongoing suit before the Apex Court, he should not have presented himself for inauguration in connection with any presidential poll.
Owuru, who contested the 2019 presidential election on the platform of Hope Democratic Party (HDP), claims to have been adjudged the winner of the poll against the declaration of Buhari by INEC. His suit seeking an order of the Court to declare him as the constitutional winner of the 2019 election is currently pending before the Supreme Court.
In a fresh motion on notice served on Tinubu, Owuru is also seeking an order restraining the respondents, particularly Tinubu, from operating the Federation Account pending the resolution of constitutional questions related to the 2023 election.
Owuru and a civil group, Hope Africa Foundation, argue that Tinubu’s claim to the office of the President is affected by lis pendens. They contend that Tinubu, by becoming aware of the suit and voluntarily joining as an interested party, has breached the doctrine, making his purported inauguration liable to dismissal.
The statement issued by Owuru and Hope Africa Foundation emphasizes the importance of awaiting the outcome of the existing legal proceedings before determining the legitimacy of the 2023 presidential election.
Owuru, who claims to be the constitutionally adjudged winner of the 2019 presidential election, expresses dissatisfaction with the inauguration of Tinubu or any other successor to Buhari, asserting that he has not completed his four-year tenure as required by law.
Despite earlier legal dismissals, Owuru remains determined in his pursuit of legal resolution, insisting that the Supreme Court’s determination of his petition will clarify the authentic Nigerian President.”