Court dismisses Buhari removal petition
On Monday, a Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a lawsuit brought by Chief Ambrose Owuru, a former Hope Democratic Party candidate for president, challenging the victory of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.) in the 2019 presidential election.
Justice Inyang Ekwo dismissed the lawsuit demanding Buhari’s on three grounds.
One of the arguments was that the lawsuit was a flagrant abuse of the legal system, was past its expiration date, and was an insult to the authority of the Nigerian Supreme Court.
The judge concluded that the lawsuit was frivolous and without merit.
Owuru, a constitutional lawyer with British training admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1984, requested that the Federal High Court pronounce him the election’s victor.
He had requested the court, among other things, to rule on the legitimacy or otherwise of INEC’s 2019 decision to move the poll from February 16 to March 23.
He asserted that INEC violated the constitution in unconstitutional and unlawful methods, shifting the presidential election, and that Muhammadu Buhari’s proclamation of victory as a result of this illegal act should be deemed void and without force.
He based his argument on the fact that the Supreme Court had not rendered a decision on the petition he filed against Buhari as required by law.
The lawmaker argued that inconsistencies in the hearing dates that were communicated to him led to the unjust dismissal of his case by the Supreme Court after his absence from the Apex Court.
Therefore, he requested that the court remove Buhari, recognize him (Owuru) as the legitimate President, and order Buhari to pay back the money.
The HDP presidential candidate also requested that the Federal High Court order INEC to refrain from holding the 2023 presidential election and that he be inaugurated for a four-year term following Buhari’s ouster from office.
The lawsuit requested that the court order President Buhari to return any funds he received as wages, emoluments, and security votes while alleging that Buhari had seized his authority.
After Buhari, the AGF, INEC, and the plaintiff adopted final addresses on November 4 of last year, Justice Ekwo set the judgment date of January 30 as the day on which the case would be decided.
