Imo: Supreme Court Fines Ozekhome N40m Over ‘Frivolous’ Case

Supreme Court yesterday imposed a fine of N40million on a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome, for filing frivolous, vexatious and irritating motions before the court in respect of Imo State governorship tussle decided since 2019.

Ozekhome was handed down the fine for bringing a motion before the Apex Court seeking to revalidate the suit that removed Emeka Ihedioha as governor of Imo State in 2019.

The senior lawyer was ordered in a ruling by Justice Tijani Abubakar to personally pay the N40million fine to four respondents he dragged before the court.

Those to be paid are the Action People’s Party (APP), Uche Nnadi, Uche Nwosu  and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In the motion considered to be frivolous by the court, Ozekhome had asked the court for a consequential order to compel INEC to issue a fresh certificate of return to Ihedioha to enable him spend a four-year tenure as Imo governor.

His grouse was that the incumbent governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma unlawfully spent the four years which Ihedioha ought to spend.

Among others, Ozekhome in the motion claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had no candidate in the 2019 Imo governorship election, hence, Uzodimma ought not to have been made governor on the platform of APC.

However, the apex court dismissed the motion on the ground that it has no jurisdiction to entertain such a motion.

Justice Abubakar held in the ruling that the request was strange, frivolous, baseless, unwarranted, vexatious and irritating. He further held that the motion was a calculated design to demonise the Supreme Court.