The former presidential candidate called on the Court of Appeal to stop Mr Tinubu's swearing-in based on some unusual grounds.
A former presidential candidate of the defunct Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Ambrose Owuru, has urged the Court of Appeal to halt Bola Tinubu's inauguration as Nigeria's president on 29 May.
The fresh suit adds to a string of suits that have been filed to challenge Mr Tinubu's victory in the February presidential election. But unlike Mr Owuru's suit, the rest of the legal actions instituted after the 25 February presidential election were filed at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja.
Already, there are five petitions by some political parties and their presidential candidates challenging Mr Tinubu's victory at the election petition court situated at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
Mr Tinubu had contested and won the election as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), according to the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Key petitioners seeking to overturn Mr Tinubu's victory include - the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party's Peter Obi who came second and third respectively at the polls.
Fresh suit
In the fresh suit marked: CA/CV/259/2023, the plaintiff, Mr Owuru, is seeking an order of the Court of Appeal barring Mr Tinubu's inauguration as Nigeria's next president on 29 May. He sued President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and INEC.
Mr Owuru, a lawyer, vied for Nigeria's presidency in 2019 on the platform of the HDP and lost to incumbent President Buhari.
However, Mr Owuru has baselessly insisted that he won the 2019 presidential election, contrary to court findings.
The plaintiff based his suit on unusual grounds that he is the constitutionally adjudged winner of the presidential 2019 poll and has not served his four-year term as statutorily required.
He contended that Mr Tinubu or anyone else cannot be sworn in as president until he serves his term as Nigeria's president.
According to Mr Owuru, Mr Buhari has been illegally occupying the office of president since 2019 on the basis that the Supreme Court was yet to decide his petition filed in 2019 challenging Mr Buhari's victory.
Prayers
In his application, Mr Owuru prayed the Court of Appeal for "an order of prohibitory injunction compelling Buhari, AGF and INEC, their servants...from any further undertaking or engaging in any act of usurpation of adjudged acquired constitutional rights and mandate as the winner of the 2019 presidential election."
Similarly, the plaintiff asked for "an order directing and placing on notice any form of handover, inauguration, organized and superintended by (Mr) Buhari on 29 May 2023 outside the adjudged winner of the 2019 presidential election."
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Mr Owuru begged the court to order an "interim placeholder" administration pending the hearing and determination of his substantive appeal on the constitutional interpretation of the suit.
The suit filed by Mr Owuru's lawyer, Odion Peter, prayed to the Court of Appeal for a speedy hearing and determination of the case before Mr Tinubu's inauguration.
In an affidavit deposed to by Adebayo Anafowode, a lawyer, the deponent expressed concerns over any delay in determining the suit before 29 May as its purpose would have been defeated.
"That the applicant (Mr Owuru) is the adjudged 1st in time constitutional winner of the February 16, 2019, presidential election reserves the right of first refusal over any later presidential election returns in the face of usurpation of adjudged acquired constitutional rights," a paragraph of the affidavit read.
But no date has been slated for the hearing of the case.
