Court Dismisses Suit Seeking to Halt Tinubu’s Inauguration, Plaintiffs Fined N15m for Frivolous Suit

In a significant development, a Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit aimed at stopping the swearing-in of Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), as Nigeria’s president.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tinubu the winner of the presidential poll held on February 25, with a total of 8,794,726 votes.

The suit, labeled FHC/ABJ/CS/ 657/2023, was filed by plaintiffs Praise Isaiah, Paul Audu, and Anongu Moses. They alleged that Tinubu had lied under oath in his form EC9 by denying his citizenship of another country. Furthermore, they claimed that the president-elect had provided false information regarding his age. The plaintiffs argued that Tinubu’s actions violated Section 117 of the Criminal Code Act and Section 156 of the Penal Code Act.

Consequently, the plaintiffs requested the court to order Tinubu’s arrest, detention, and prevention from being sworn in until the cases before the presidential election petition court were resolved. Additionally, they sought a 10-year ban on Tinubu from participating in any elective position.

However, in Friday’s ruling, Justice James Omotosho, the presiding judge, deemed the suit “unconstitutional, frivolous, and vexatious.” He held that the plaintiffs lacked the locus standi, or legal right, to institute the action, thereby stripping the court of its jurisdiction to entertain the suit. Justice Omotosho declared the suit an abuse of the court process and a waste of judicial time, emphasizing that it was filed in bad faith with the aim of ridiculing the judiciary.

Read Also: Supreme Court Dismisses PDP’s Suit on Alleged Double Nomination of Kashim Shettima

The judge made it clear that the presidential election petition court was the only body with the jurisdiction to hear such matters. He warned that he would report the plaintiffs’ lawyer to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for initiating an action that could tarnish the judiciary’s reputation.

Consequently, Justice Omotosho dismissed the suit and awarded a cost of N10 million in favor of Tinubu and N5 million in favor of the APC, to be paid by the plaintiffs. Additionally, the plaintiffs’ counsel was ordered to pay N1 million to each of the respondents in the suit, which included the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, the APC, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

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