Today, the Abuja Court of Appeal is scheduled to hear a new lawsuit seeking to prevent the inauguration of President-elect Bola Tinubu on 29th May, as per the court’s order.
Ambrose Owuru, the petitioner, brought the case to the Appellate Court after it was dismissed by Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Abuja Federal High Court on 30th January, 2023.
The lawsuit, identified as CA/ABJ/CV/259/2023, was filed by Owuru, the Presidential candidate in the 2019 Presidential election, along with his party, Hope Democratic Party (HDP).
The plaintiff is urging the court to prohibit President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the INEC from carrying out the inauguration of the President-elect on 29th May.
He seeks to halt any further actions related to the 2023 Presidential election, which resulted in Tinubu being declared winner.
Owuru, claiming to be the legitimate winner of the 2019 Presidential election, argues against Tinubu’s inauguration or anyone else succeeding Buhari, citing that he won the 2019 election and has not completed his required one-year tenure as stipulated by law.
He asserted that since 2019, President Buhari has unlawfully occupied his position of authority due to the pending determination of his petition. This, Owuru says, challenges Buhari’s victory declaration by the Supreme Court.
On 18th May, the court considered a joint motion presented by Tinubu and represented by Wole Olanipekun SAN Chambers.
In a concise ruling, the court granted Tinubu’s request and added him as the fourth respondent, alongside Buhari and INEC.
Following Tinubu’s inclusion in the lawsuit, as he possesses an interest that could be at risk, the court instructed Buhari, the AGF, INEC, and Tinubu, as the first to fourth respondents, to file their Respondent Briefs and serve the appellants by 10 am today.
Additionally, the court ordered the appellants to file their reply brief and serve the respondents by noon today.
Consequently, the court has scheduled the hearing for the case at 3 pm today.
