An Abuja-based Federal High Court has dismissed a petition seeking to stop the May 29 inauguration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
In the petition, the plaintiffs — Praise Isaiah, Paul Audu, and Anongu Moses —indicated that Tinubu lied under oath in his Form EC9 that he was not a citizen of another country.
They also stipulated in the petition that Tinubu lied under oath about his age.
They opined that Tinubu’s actions contravened Section 117 of the Criminal Code Act as well as Section 156 of the Penal Code Act.
Therefore, in their prayers, they urged the court to arrest, detain, and prevent Tinubu from being sworn in as president until the cases before the presidential election tribunal have been determined.
They also asked the court to prevent Tinubu from running for any elective office for the next ten years.
Justice James Omotosho, the presiding judge, in his ruling on Friday, May 26, 2023, held that the petition was “unconstitutional, frivolous, and vexatious”, adding that the plaintiffs lacked the locus standi (legal right) to institute the petition since the court lacks the jurisdiction to hear the case.
Omotosho ruled that the lawsuit was a misuse of the legal system and a waste of judicial time.
He went on to say that the petition was filed in bad faith and was intended to bring the judiciary into disrepute.
Omitosho also added that only the presidential election petition tribunal has jurisdiction to hear the suit.
As a result, Omotosho dismissed the complaint and awarded Tinubu N10 million in costs, with the APC receiving N5 million to be paid by the complainants.
He further threatened to file a complaint with the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee against the plaintiffs’ counsel for filing such a frivolous lawsuit “capable of dragging the judiciary to the mud”.
Furthermore, he ordered the counsel for the plaintiffs to pay N1 million to each of the respondents in the suit, which include the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (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).
This development comes a day after the Supreme Court struck out a petition seeking to disqualify the nomination of Bola Tinubu because the Vice President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, permitted himself to be nominated for more than one seat ahead of the 2023 general election.
According to Chronicle NG, “The Supreme Court, in a landmark decision issued by Justice Adamu Jauro, ruled that the PDP lacked locus standi (legal standing) to meddle in the affairs of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, which nominated both Tinubu and Shettima for the presidential election”.
