Court dismisses suit seeking Buhari’s sack, cancellation of 2023 elections

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday dismissed a suit against the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.

A former presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Ambrose Owuru, filed the suit against Mr Buhari.

In his judgment, Justice Inyang Ekwo held that the suit was an abuse of court process, was statute barred and was an affront to the supremacy of the Supreme Court.

The judge also held that the suit was baseless, frivolous, irritating and vexatious.

Mr Owuru instituted legal action against Mr Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In the suit, he had prayed the court to declare the presidential seat vacant, order his inauguration for a four-year tenure of office upon the removal of Mr Buhari from office and stop INEC from conducting the 2023 election.

He said this was because his tenure was being usurped.

He also asked the court to determine the legality or otherwise of the INEC’S decision in 2019, during which it shifted the election from February 16 to March 23, 2019.

He claimed that INEC acted against the constitution on how the presidential poll was shifted and that declaration of Mr Buhari as the winner of the unlawful act should be declared null and void and of no effect.

Mr Owuru asked the court to declare him the winner of the poll.

The ground of his claim was predicated on the fact that the petition he lodged against Mr Buhari had yet to be adjudicated upon by the Supreme Court as required by law.

The politician claimed that his petition at the Supreme Court was unjustly dismissed following his absence from the apex court due to discrepancies in the hearing dates.