COURT IMPOSES N17M FINE ON LITIGANTS, LAWYER IN LAWSUIT AGAINST TINUBU, APC TO HALT INAUGURATION
Federal High Court in Abuja Orders N17m Fine Against Litigants and Lawyer in Frivolous Suit Seeking to Halt Tinubu's Inauguration
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has imposed a fine of N17 million on three litigants and their lawyer for filing a baseless lawsuit attempting to prevent the inauguration of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The court found Praise Ilemona, Pastor Paul Issac Audu, and Dr. Anongu Moses, who jointly initiated the suit to halt Tinubu's swearing-in, liable for the fine.
The three litigants are required to jointly pay N10 million to President-Elect Tinubu and an additional N5 million to the All Progressives Congress (APC), who were among the seven defendants in the case. Justice Omotosho also ordered an annual interest rate of 10 percent to be applied to the judgment debt until it is fully settled.
Furthermore, the lawyer who filed the suit was directed to pay N1 million each to Tinubu and the APC. During the proceedings, their counsel pleaded with the court for leniency on behalf of his clients and suggested that they be advised against pursuing frivolous lawsuits in the future.
Counsel for Tinubu, Lateef Fagbemi, argued for the dismissal of the suit on the grounds that the three plaintiffs lacked legal standing to initiate it. The senior lawyer informed the court that none of the plaintiffs participated in the primary election that resulted in the election of President-elect Tinubu but chose to harass him through the lawsuit. Fagbemi further contended that the litigants engaged in an egregious abuse of the court process by filing multiple cases against Tinubu and the APC in various courts without any reasonable cause of action.
The three plaintiffs had filed the suit seeking to halt the May 29 inauguration based on allegations that President-elect Bola Tinubu provided false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission regarding his age and citizenship status.
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