25% votes: Court dismisses FCT residents’ suit against Tinubu, fines lawyer N20m

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has struck out the suit filed by five residents of the Federal Capital Territory seeking to stop the 2023 presidential inauguration.

The residents – Anyaegbunam Okoye, David Adzer, Jeffrey Ucheh, Osang Paul and Chibuike Nwanchukwu, who sued for themselves and on behalf of other residents and registered voters in the FCT – had prayed to the court to halt the inauguration on the grounds that President Bola Tinubu had not secured 25% of the votes cast in the FCT.

At the last adjourned date 28th May which was scheduled for rule on the case, Justice Inyang Ekwo was absent from court on an official duty.

At today’s proceeding, the lawyer was absent from court.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Ekwo held that from the affidavit of the plaintiffs, the lawyer – Chucks Nwachukwu – instigated the suit and merely got the plaintiffs to stand in as parties while he handled the suit as a lawyer.

The court said such “is unprofessional conduct, reckless, frivolous and a lack of complete knowledge of the elementary principles of law.”

The court added that the action was willfully initiated not just to circumvent, but to overreach the ongoing proceedings of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal.

The judge added, “The lawyer aimed to plunge the country into unprecedented constitutional anarchy capable of causing bloodshed and genocide.

“The plaintiffs and their lawyers are ought to be deprecated in the strongest term for this type of process.”

The court struck out the suit and directed the lawyer to pay the sum of N10m each to the 1st and 2nd respondents – the Attorney General of the Federation and the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

Justice Ekwo held that the lawyer was lucky to be absent from court otherwise he would have de-robed him immediately.

The court referred him to the legal disciplinary committee to determine if he was fit to practice, adding that the order shall be served on the Supreme Court, Nigerian Bar Association and the AGF.

The court also held that until the fine is paid no further action can be taken on the suit.