Former presidential candidate Chief Ambrose Owuru has petitioned the Supreme Court, seeking to remove President Bola Tinubu from office. Owuru, who ran as the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) candidate in the 2019 election, alleges that Tinubu is an agent of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), making him unfit to hold Nigeria’s highest office.

Owuru also cited Tinubu’s 1993 forfeiture of $460,000 to the U.S. government in a drug-related case as grounds for disqualification. He urged the court to invoke Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution and declare Tinubu ineligible to serve as president due to alleged foreign influence.

The lawsuit, marked SC/CV/667/2023, also names former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants. Owuru, a British-trained lawyer called to the Nigerian Bar in 1982, argued that Buhari’s tenure was illegal and claimed he was the rightful winner of the 2019 presidential election.

Owuru alleged his mandate was “hijacked” by Buhari, who he accused of benefiting from an election manipulated by INEC. He claimed he won a referendum before the postponed 2019 polls, securing over 50 million votes, but his victory was ignored. A mix-up in court hearing dates reportedly led to his original petition against Buhari being dismissed.

Owuru now seeks a Supreme Court declaration naming him president and ordering his immediate inauguration. He also demands the removal of Tinubu, arguing the presidency has been occupied illegitimately since 2019.

The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on the matter for Monday, December 16, 2024. This comes after the Court of Appeal fined Owuru N40 million in May 2023 for filing what it called a “frivolous” suit to stop Tinubu’s inauguration.

Owuru’s legal efforts to block Buhari’s 2019 swearing-in and halt Tinubu’s 2023 inauguration have all been unsuccessful. Despite this, he continues to pursue claims that his mandate was unlawfully usurped.