Court Fines Litigants, Lawyer N17m Over Suit To Stop Tinubu’s Inauguration

Justice James Omotoso of a Federal High Court in Abuja, has imposed a fine of N17m on three litigants and their lawyer for filing a frivolous suit seeking to stop the inauguration of the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The court imposed the fines on Praise Ilemona, Pastor Paul Issac Audu and Dr Anongu Moses, who jointly instituted the suit, praying for an order to halt the May 29 swearing-in of Tinubu as new President.

The three litigants are to jointly pay the President-elect a sum of N10m and another N5m to the All Progressives Congress (APC), which was part of the seven defendants in the suit.

Justice Omotoso also ordered that an interest of 10 per cent be placed on the judgment debt per year until when finally liquidated.

The Plaintiffs’ lawyer, Daniel Elomah, who filed the suit declared as vexatious by the court, on their behalf, was ordered to pay N1m each to Tinubu and the APC.

At the Friday’s proceedings, Elomah had pleaded profusely for his clients to be pardoned and advised that the court should counsel them against embarking on frivolous suit in future.

Legal luminary, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who is Tinubu’s Counsel in the suit, had argued that the suit be dismissed on the ground that the three plaintiffs lacked locus standi to institute it

The senior lawyer informed the Court that none of the plaintiffs participated in the primary election that produced the President-elect but chose to harass, intimidate and irittate Tinubu through the frivolous suit.

Fagbemi SAN further argued that the litigants engaged in gross abuse of court by their multiple cases against Tinubu and the APC in various courts without any reasonable cause of action.

The Federal High Court decision came barely 24 hours after the Court of Appeal in Abuja slammed N40m fine on a former presidetial candidate in the 2019 elections, Chief Ambrose Albert Owuru, who also sought to stop Tinubu’s inauguration on the ground that he won the 2019 presidential election and should be inaugurated as President instead of Tinubu.

The three plaintiffs had in their dismissed suit sought to stop the May 29 inauguration on the alleged ground that the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, supplied false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) about his age and citizenship status.

Justice Omotosho, in a ruling on Friday, held that the suit by Praise Ilemona Isaiah, Pastor Paul Isaac Audu and Anongu Moses, was frivolous and abuse of court process.

The Judge held that the plaintiffs lacked the locus standi to file the suit, adding that the court could not exercise jurisdiction to hear it because it relates to a presidential election.

The ruling by Justice Omotosho is coming about 40 minutes after the Supreme Court dismissed another suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to void the candidacy of Tinubu and the Vice-president-elect, Kashim Shettma, over alleged double nomination of Shettima.