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Tag: HDP

  • 2023 Election: Again, opposition drags President Tinubu to Supreme Court

    2023 Election: Again, opposition drags President Tinubu to Supreme Court

    For the second time during his six month old administration, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been dragged before the Supreme Court for allegedly unlawfully presenting himself for inauguration as President, despite a pending legal action against the conduct of the 2023 presidential poll.

    Owuru, a presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) in the 2019 general election, wants the Apex Court to nullify the inauguration of Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election, Citing the doctrine of Lis Pendens

    Owuru, a constitutional lawyer, is contending that the presidential election that produced Tinubu was an exercise in futility and illegal self-help, given his yet-to-be-determined suit against Tinubu and others at the Supreme Court.

    The pending Supreme Court suit with No. SC/667/2023 has Chief A.A. Owuru and Hope Democratic Party as Appellants while Respondents are former President Muhammadu Buhari, AGF, INEC, and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    Owuru  argues that Tinubu’s declaration as President by INEC is an affront to the Supreme Court and the established law by reason of lis pendens, adding that since Tinubu is a party in the pending suit before the Apex Court, he ought not to have presented himself for inauguration in respect of any presidential poll.

    Owuru contested the 2019 presidential election on the platform of Hope Democratic Party (HDP) against former President Muhammadu Buhari and claimed to be adjudged winner of the poll against the declaration of Buhari by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    His suit seeking an order of Court to declare him as the adjudged and constitutional winner of the 2019 election and currently pending before the Supreme Court was on May 18 this year, voluntarily joined by Tinubu as an interested party.

    In a fresh motion on notice served on Tinubu through the Chambers of Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, the ex-presidential candidate is also praying to the Supreme Court for an order restraining the respondents and particularly Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu from further operating the Federation Account pending the determination and resolution of the constitutional questions again the 2023 election.

    In a statement he issued in Abuja alongside a civil group, Hope Africa Foundation in respect of the suit, Owuru contended that since Tinubu had become aware of the suit and had voluntarily joined as an interested party after fierce arguments of his lawyers, he had breached the doctrine of liz pendis and his purported inauguration liable to dismissal.

    The statement signed by Anwal Ibrahim, the National Coordinator of Africa Hope Foundation read in part “We want to place on record that Tinubu’s claim to the office of the President is affected by reason of his being Lis Pendens.

    “This is so because having joined the pending suit on the subject of mandate usurpation by Buhari, nothing ought to have been done until the final resolutions of disputed issues.

    “There is no doubt that the present act of self-help and claim to occupy the office of the president by any of the parties in this action is an act of self-help and violates the law and the doctrine of Lis Pendens which is to the effect that nothing should be done by parties to change or affect the subject matter before the court so as not to prejudice the existing adjudged acquired constitutional rights and mandate of Chief Owuru as the adjudged constitutional winner of the 2019 presidential election.

    “It is on record that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in recognition of the doctrine of Lis Pendens and the existing suits on the issue of usurpation of mandate between Owuru and Buhari, joined the ongoing proceedings then in Court of Appeal on the 18th of May 2023 before his purported inauguration over the 2023 presidential electoral debacle.

    ” He is bound to await the outcome of the proceedings in the already existing issue of usurpation of constitutional mandate and entitlement to serve out the same by Owuru.

    “The implication of this, by law is that the 2023 presidential election and its outcome which Tinubu was aware of before joining the suit, is subsumed and dependent on the outcome of the existing legal proceedings on the subject of the already adjudged and yet to be served constitutional mandate of Owuru to serve out the term of office of the President of Nigeria as required by law.

    “Our laws in this regard concerning the doctrine of Lis pendens has been well affirmed by the Supreme Court in the case of Peter Obi vs Ngige (Supra) as parties are to maintain and strictly observe the fact of the existence of pending suits and efficacy and potency of undermining the court’s jurisdiction and engaging in act of self-help and a brazen usurpation of candidate, parties mandate, subject matter in the pending case.

    “There is no doubt that this act of the present All Progressives Congress (APC) led central government in practical terms are clear acts of usurpation.

    “As law-abiding citizens, we urge that Nigerians exercise patience in the due and early resolution of these outstanding issues to know who truly is the authentic Nigerian President.

     

  • Court strikes out suit seeking removal of Buhari as president

    Court strikes out suit seeking removal of Buhari as president

    A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday dismissed a suit filed by a former presidential candidate of Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Mr Ambrose Owuru against the election of President Muhammadu Buhari, in the 2019 presidential election.

    Delivering judgment in the suit, Justice Inyang Ekwo, dismissed the suit on three major grounds.

    Justice Ekwo held that the suit was an abuse of court process, was statute barred and was an affront on the supremacy of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

    The judge also held that the suit was baseless, frivolous, irritating and vexatious in it’s entirety.

    Owuru, a presidential candidate in the 2019 election on the platform of HDP instituted the legal action against Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In the suit, Owuru had prayed the court to declare the presidential seat vacant and swear him in as the authentic winner of the 2019 presidential election.

    He also asked  the court to determine the legality or otherwise of the INEC’S decision in 2019 during which it shifted the election from Feb. 16 to Feb. 23, 2019.

    He claimed that INEC acted against the constitution in the illegal and unlawful way and manner the presidential poll was shifted and that declaration of Buhari as winner of the unlawful act should be declared null and void and of no effect.

    Owuru,  asked the court to declare him as winner of the poll.

    The ground of his claim was predicated on the fact that the petition he lodged against Buhari had not been adjudicated upon by the Supreme Court as required by law.

    The politician claimed that his petition at the Supreme Court was unjustly dismissed following his absence in the apex court due to discrepancies in the hearing dates conveyed to him.

    He therefore prayed the court to remove Buhari and declare him (Owuru) the authentic President and that Buhari should be compelled to refund all monies he collected as salaries, emoluments and security votes.

    The HDP presidential candidate also asked the court to order his inauguration for a four-year tenure of office upon removal of Buhari from office and stop INEC from conducting the 2023 election.

    This, he said, was on the grounds  that his tenure was being usurped.

  • Rivers guber: Wike wins again as Tribunal dismisses ADP petition

    Rivers guber: Wike wins again as Tribunal dismisses ADP petition

    The Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the defeated governorship candidate of Action Democratic Party (ADP), Mr Victor Fingesi against the re-election of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.

    The Tribunal described the petition as an adventure to discover the Non-existent. It declared that in the end, nothing was discovered by the petitioner.

    In a judgment read by the Tribunal Chairman, Justice K.A. Orjiako on Saturday, the Tribunal ruled that Fingesi of the ADP lacked the locus standi to file the petition.

    The Tribunal held that inconsistent facts contained in the petition filed by the ADP governorship candidate made it incompetent.

    According to the Tribunal, the petitioner in his own petition, wrote that he was challenging the election of the first petitioner.

    The Tribunal noted that an election petition must challenge the person returned as winner and not the petitioner.

    Justice Orjiako stated that the Tribunal had earlier struck out the petition on the same premise and that the petitioner went on appeal. The court noted that the Court of Appeal affirmed that the petitioner lacked locus standi in view of the paragraphs of his own petition.

    He ruled: “This petition is hereby by struck out. The petitioner lacks the locus standi to file the petition.”

    Determining the petition on its merit, the Tribunal declared that the petitioner failed woefully to prove that Governor Wike did not score the highest number of lawful votes during the March 9, 2019 governorship election.

    Justice Orjiako declared that the petitioner’s complaint was vague and merely speculative.

    The Tribunal stated that the first petitioner did not know the number of registered voters in the state. The Tribunal further noted that the petitioner under cross examination said he had no knowledge of the number of registered voters in his own polling unit in Okrika LGA.

    The Tribunal declared that an allegation that the winner did not score the highest number of votes is an invitation to compare figures. The Tribunal held that the petitioner ought to plead his own results and that of the winner for the court to cross check.

    Justice Orjiako noted that there was no evidence of any alleged inflation of results, as the evidence remains vague.

    The Tribunal held that the burden of proof is strictly on the petitioner and not on any weakness of the defence of the respondents.

    The Tribunal agreed with INEC that election was conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act.

    The Tribunal examined the testimonies of the witnesses of the ADP were mere hearsay, since most of them were not at the respective polling units where elections took place.

    The Tribunal described most of the witnesses of ADP as impostors who capitulated in the face of cross examination.

    The Tribunal examined the testimonies on a local Government by Local Government basis.

    According to the Tribunal, despite the litany of documents pleaded by the petitioner, he could only tender Newspaper reports.

    The Tribunal said that INEC has the power to suspend an election, in line with Section 26 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

    The Tribunal further stated that there is no evidence that after the suspension of the election, the petitioners refused to participate in the process. The Court declared that the petitioners have failed to adduce evidence to impugn the election of Governor Wike.

  • Presidential poll: You can’t amend petitions against Buhari, Tribunal tells HPD

    Presidential poll: You can’t amend petitions against Buhari, Tribunal tells HPD

    The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Thursday rejected move by the Hope Democratic Party (HPD) to amend some of its petitions against the election of President Muhammdu Buhari in the last presidential election in Nigeria.
    A five-man panel of the court in two rulings unanimously rejected the the two documents filed by HDP and its presidential candidate during the election, Ambrose Owuru.
    The court dismissed a motion filed by the HPD on July 1, 2019, seeking to include more witnesses and effect some amendments to their witnesses’ statement on oath.
    In the second ruling, the court held that the document titled: “notice to contend,” filed by the petitioners was unknown in law.
  • Petition against Buhari: Tribunal says HDP remains consenting plaintiff

    Petition against Buhari: Tribunal says HDP remains consenting plaintiff

    The Presidential Election Tribunal has dismissed the application seeking the withdrawal of Hope Democratic Party from the petition challenging president Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election.

    Justice Mohammed Garba, while giving the ruling, held that HDP and Chief Ambrose Owuru, it’s presidential candidate in the Feb. 23 general election remained consenting plaintiffs in the eyes of the law.

    Owuru and the HDP had jointly filed a petition before the tribunal to challenge the victory of President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress at the poll.

    But a faction of the party led by Poland Tapre subsequently filed an application before the tribunal praying for the withdrawal of the party as a co-petitioner in the case on the grounds that the petition was filed in the name of the party without its consent.

    The faction claimed that Owuru had since been suspended from the party in August 2018, and Tapre had been the National Chairman of the party.

    The application was opposed by Owuru’s legal team.

    More details later….