Court refuses to fire Buhari, says pointless process

A federal high court in Abuja on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a former presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party, Chief Ambrose Owuru, against the election of the president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Retd), in 2019.

The lawsuit for Buhari’s dismissal was dismissed by Judge Inyang Ekwo on three grounds.

The three grounds are that the lawsuit constituted a gross abuse of legal process; was time-barred and was an affront to the Supreme Court.

In the lawsuit, Owuru had sought a court order to declare the presidential seat vacant and inaugurate him as the authentic winner of the 2019 election.

Apart from Buhari being named as the first defendant, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and the Independent National Election Commission were respectfully listed as the second and third defendants in the lawsuit with reference number FHC/ABJ/CS/480/2021 .

Owuru had taken Buhari to court asking for an order to declare the presidency vacant because the president was not the winner of the February 16, 2019 presidential election.

In the lawsuit he filed on June 16, 2021, Owuru had alleged that INEC had no constitutional authority to move the previously set election for February 16, 2019 to February 23, adding that Buhari, a product of illegitimate February 23 elections, may not run the country lawfully.

The main reason of his case was that since his trial against Buhari at the Supreme Court in 2019 was inconclusive due to errors on the adjourned date, he should be declared the winner of the presidential election.

The plaintiff had further sought a perpetual injunction barring Buhari, AGF and INEC from further staging and holding presidential elections in 2023 so that he could complete his four-year term upon inauguration.

In his opinion, however, Judge Ekwo criticized the way Owuru came up with his original summons, adding that it took him a while to understand the lawsuit.

The judge ruled that while the cause of action arose on February 23, 2019, the plaintiff filed its lawsuit on June 18, 2021.

“I have carefully studied the four questions posed by the plaintiff to determine. Unfortunately, Article 285 of the 1999 Constitution cannot help him. The section has broken down the foundation of the plaintiff’s lawsuit and is time-barred,” the judge ruled.

In addition, Judge Ekwo said Owuru’s claim that INEC does not have the power to move the election date has no force of law.

The judge ruled on another point that Owuru’s request to the Federal Supreme Court to review the Supreme Court’s decision in his petition against Buhari was despicable, adding that it was an aberration for a Supreme Court to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision. Apex Court in the country.

Consequently, Judge Ekwo ruled that the lawsuit brought by Owuru was frivolous, baseless, baseless, vexatious and pointless, and subsequently dismissed it.