Tinubu Faces Supreme Court Challenge For Unlawful Inauguration Amidst Pending Legal Dispute

President Bola Tinubu is facing legal scrutiny at the Supreme Court, accused of wrongfully inaugurating himself as President despite a pending legal action against the conduct of the 2023 presidential poll, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports.

Referring to the doctrine of lis pendens, a presidential candidate in the 2019 general election Albert Ambrose Owuru is urging the apex court to invalidate Tinubu’s inauguration as the winner of the 2023 presidential poll.

Owuru, a constitutional lawyer, asserts that the presidential election leading to Tinubu’s victory was futile and involved illegal self-help, emphasizing his ongoing, unresolved legal action against Tinubu and others at the Supreme Court.

In the pending Supreme Court case (No. SC/667/2023), A.A. Owuru and the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) serve as appellants, with respondents including former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Independent National Electoral Commission, and Tinubu.

Owuru argues that INEC’s proclamation of Tinubu as President challenges the authority of the Supreme Court and established legal principles due to lis pendens.

He asserts that, given Tinubu’s involvement in the pending case before the apex court, he should not have presented himself for inauguration about any presidential poll.

Owuru participated in the 2019 presidential election on the platform of HDP against former President Buhari and claimed to be adjudged winner of the poll, against the declaration of Buhari by INEC

His lawsuit, filed to secure a court order declaring him the acknowledged and constitutional winner of the 2019 election, is presently before the Supreme Court. On May 18 of this year, Tinubu voluntarily joined the case as an interested party.

In a recent legal development, the ex-presidential candidate, through Wole Olanipekun’s chambers, has submitted a motion to the Supreme Court.

This motion seeks an order to restrain respondents, especially Tinubu, from operating the federation account until the constitutional questions surrounding the 2023 election are resolved and determined by the court.

Kanyi Daily recalls that Bola Tinubu welcomed the Supreme Court’s judgment which upheld his electoral victory at the February 25 Presidential Election.