The Federal High Court in Abuja delivered judgement on Tuesday against a legal practitioner, Mr Chuks Nwachukwu, who was forced to pay a N20 million fine for filing a bogus petition to stop President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29.
The lawyer represented five inhabitants of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, who sought a court injunction to suspend Tinubu’s inauguration ceremony at Eagle Square in Abuja.
He had, among other things, petitioned the court to prevent the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, or any other judicial authority from appointing Tinubu as President until legal issues pertaining to the presidential election were resolved.
Plaintiffs behind the petition: FHC/ABJ/CS/578/2023, who identified themselves as “registered voters of the FCT, Abuja, excepting those exempting themselves”, were; Anyaegbunam Okoye, David Adzer, Jeffery Ucheh, Osang Paul and Chibuike Nwachukwu.
They argued that going by the provision of section 134(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, “no candidate in the February 25 presidential election in the country may validly be declared elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without that candidate obtaining at least 25% of the votes cast in the FCT, Abuja.”
However, the court, in its ruling on Tuesday, dismissed the petition on the premise that the plaintiffs lacked the locus standi (legal right), to institute the action.
According to Justice Inyang Ekwo, the complainants failed to disclose to the court that the matter presented in the suit was already pending before the Presidential Election Petition Court, (PEPC).
He ruled that the high court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
Nonetheless, Justice Ekwo noted that after thorough examination of an affidavit attached in support of the petition, the court discovered that the petition against Tinubu was initiated by the lawyer.
“I can discern that the averments thereof are merely the voice of Esau and the hands of Jacob.
“It means that the said Chucks Nwachukwu of counsel for the plaintiffs instigated this suit and merely got the plaintiffs to stand in as parties while he handles the suit as a lawyer.
“This is an unprofessional conduct on the part of the said Chucks Nwachukwu of counsel of the plaintiffs.
“It is unfortunate that lawyers like Chucks Nwachukwu of counsel to the plaintiffs continue to engage in this sort of activity by procuring innocent citizens to act as fronts in litigations which are actually their personal cases.
“This is done with such impunity and lack of fear of the consequence to the chagrin and ruin of the reputation of the legal system in this country.
“It is so because the learned counsel has made himself to believe that he can flout the Rule of Profession Conduct for Legal Practitioners without any consequence.
“On the whole, I find that this action is premised on recklessness, frivolity and complete lack of knowledge of the elementary principle of law as it relates to the Constitution and Electoral Act, 2022,” Justice Ekwo stated.
Ekwo further said “In my opinion, this action was willfully initiated to not just circumvent, but to overreach the ongoing proceedings of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
“The aim, thereof, which cannot be denied, is to plunge this country into unprecedented constitutional anarchy capable of causing bloodshed and genocide.
“The plaintiffs and their lawyer ought to be deprecated in the strongest term for this type of adventure and I so do.”
Justice Ekwo noted that because the lawyer had previously berated the court in an interview held the day the judgment was initially scheduled to be delivered, the lawyer would have been barred from practicing as a lawyer in the country pending when he is cleared by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC.
“But since he is not in court, I made an order directing the Registrar to forward all the processes to the LPDC to determine whether he is fit to practice the profession.” Ekwo added.
However, Justice Ekwo ordered the lawyer to pay N10m each to the Attorney-General of the Federation, (AGF), and Chief Justice of Nigeria, (CJN), who were named as the first and second defendants in the case.
In the event that the litigants seek to appeal, he ruled that no further action should be taken until the N20m fine is paid by counsel for the plaintiffs.
Furthermore, the court instructed that the judgment’s orders be served on the Supreme Court’s Chief Registrar, the AGF, and the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA.
