A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday, May 26, awarded a total sum of N17 million against three applicants and their lawyer in a suit seeking to stop the swearing-in of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, on May 29 for being frivolous and abuse of court process.
The presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, in a ruling, said the applicants, who were neither candidates nor members of a political party in the election that produced Tinubu as the President-elect, lacked locus standi (legal right) to institute the matter.
Justice Omotosho, who described the suit as vexatious, held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter being a post-election matter which ought to have been filed at the Appeal Court.
The three applicants – Praise Ilemona Isaiah, Pastor Paul Isaac Audu, and Dr Anongu Moses – had filed the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/657/2023.
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In the suit, they sued President Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), and Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Others were the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 1st to 7th defendants, respectively.
In the motion dated May 18 and filed May 22, the applicants sought an order of interim injunction restraining the 2nd defendant (Tinubu) from being sworn in as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
In a 10-ground of argument attached to the motion, the applicants said that the APC candidate contested the February 25, 2023, presidential election and was declared to have won the poll by INEC (7th defendant).
They said although Tinubu was billed to be sworn in as Nigeria’s President on May 29, they had uncovered that Tinubu, contrary to the affidavit he deposed to in INEC’s Form EC9, besides being a Nigerian, was also a citizen of Guinea Republic, thereby committing the offence of perjury, among others.
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