The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ruled that lawyer Ambrose Owuru and his party, the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), must pay a penalty of N40 million for filing a baseless lawsuit in an attempt to halt the inauguration of President-Elect Bola Tinubu on May 29.
The three-member panel of the Court unanimously concluded that Owuru’s appeal and the actions of his party were an abuse of the legal system. Justice Tukur, one of the panel members, stated that since the case had already been litigated up to the Supreme Court, it was inappropriate for Owuru and HDP to reopen the matter.
Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and Owuru was ordered to pay N10 million in costs to each of the respondents, namely President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Bola Ahmed Tinubu.