May 29: Court orders applicants, lawyer to pay Tinubu, APC N17m over frivolous suit

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday awarded a total sum of N17 million against three applicants and their lawyer in a suit seeking to stop the swearing-in of Sen. Bola Tinubu on May 29 as Nigeria's fifth democratic president for being frivolous and an abuse of court process.

In a ruling, Justice James Omotosho said the applicants, who were neither candidates nor members of a political party in the election that produced Tinubu as president-elect, lacked locus standi (the legal right) to institute the matter.

Justice Omotosho, who described the suit as vexatious, further held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter because it was a post-election matter that ought to have been filed at the Appeal Court.

Supreme reports that three applicants, Praise Ilemona Isaiah, Pastor Paul Isaac Audu, and Dr. Anongu Moses, had filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/657/2023.

In the suit, they sued the president, Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Others were the Inspector-General of Police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the 1st and 7th defendants, respectively.

In the motion dated May 18 and filed May 22, the applicants sought an order of interim injunction restraining the second defendant (Tinubu) from being sworn in as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

In a 10-grounds argument attached to the motion, the applicants said that the APC candidate contested the last presidential election and was declared to have won the poll by INEC (7th defendant).

They said that although Tinubu was billed to be sworn in as president on May 29, they had uncovered that Tinubu, contrary to the affidavit he deposed to in INEC’s Form EC9, was also a citizen of the Guinea Republic, thereby committing the offense of perjury, among others.

The matter was still ongoing as of the time of filing this report.