Senior Lawyer asks Appeal Court to stop Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29

CHIGOZIE IKPO, Abuja 

 

A Constitutional Lawyer, Chief Albert Owuru has filed a fresh motion on notice seeking to stop the inauguration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Nigeria’s New President on May 29, 2023, at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

 

The suit marked; CA/CV/259/2023 was instituted by Owuru, a Presidential candidate in the 2019 Presidential election, under the Hope Democratic Party (HDP).

 

Owuru is praying the Court of Appeal in Abuja to prohibit President Muhammadu Buhari, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from inaugurating the 2023 President-elect on May 29.

 

He is also asking the court to stop Buhari, the AGF and the INEC stopped from taking any further steps on the 2023 presidential election that produced Tinubu as winner.

 

Owuru, who had claimed to be adjudged constitutional winner of the 2019 presidential election predicated his grouse against inauguration of Tinubu or anybody else as successor to Buhari on the ground that he is the constitutionally adjudged winner of the 2019 election and has not spent his tenure as required by law.

 

Among others, Owuru insisted that President Buhari has been usurping his tenure of office since 2019 because the Supreme Court has not determined his petition filed in 2019 in which he challenged the purported declaration of Buhari as the election winner.

 

In his motion on notice marked CA/CV/259/2023 just filled at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, Owuru applied for “An order of prohibitory injunction compelling Buhari, AGF and INEC, their servants, agents and privies to preserve and give due cognizance and abstain from any further undertaking or engaging in any act of usurpation of adjudged acquired Constitutional rights and mandate as winner of the 2019 presidential election.”

 

He also applied for another order directing and placing on notice that any form of handover inauguration, organized and Superintended by Buhari on 29th May 2023 outside the adjudged winner of the 2019 presidential election, subject of the pending appeal, remains and is viewed as an “interim place holder” administration pending the hearing and determination of his substantive appeal on constitutional interpretation thereof.

 

Listed as respondents in the motion on notice are President Muhammadu Buhari, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 1st to 3rd, respectively.

 

The motion on notice filed on his behalf by Mr Odion Peter has been served on President Buhari and AGF through their counsel, Mrs Maimuna Lami Ashiru of the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja, while that of the INEC was served through the Head of Legal Department and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr S. O Ibrahim.

 

The motion is supported with an 8-paragraph affidavit praying the Court of Appeal for expeditious hearing before the inauguration of Tinubu.

 

The affidavit deposed to by an Abuja based legal practitioner, Adebayo Anafowode and filed at the Court of Appeal in Abuja expressed apprehension that Owuru’s suit against Buhari would be rendered nugatory unless given accelerated hearing.

 

Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for hearing of the suit by the Court of Appeal.

 

However, President Muhammadu Buhari is set to unveil the national and regimental colours for the new and operationalised units’ colours of the Nigerian Army ahead of Bola Tinubu’s inauguration.

 

Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu made the announcement at a media briefing on Tuesday.

 

Nwachukwu spoke in Abuja at the Trooping and Presentation of Colours Parade ahead of the President-elect’s swearing in on May 29.

 

The Army spokesperson recalled that the last Trooping and Presentation of Colours Parade for the units was conducted in 2007.

 

New units have been established and operationalised since, in line with the increasing operational commitments of the army as well as provisions of its extant Order of Battle (ORBAT).

 

The director said the colours in the Army have been used in multiple operations in various geopolitical zones as well as foreign countries, hence deserving presentation of new ones.

 

“In line with the traditions, customs and ethics of the Nigerian Army, trooping and presentation of colours parade 2023 will be conducted to retire torn or worn out colours.

 

“A total of 81 units will, therefore, be participating in the parade; 53 colours will be due for retirement, while 28 will be presented to new units”, he added.

 

On Thursday, President Buhari, the Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces of Nigeria, will be the special guest of honour being the reviewing officer.

 

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