Court Dismisses FCT Residents’ Suit Against Tinubu, Fines Lawyer N20m

A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, awarded a N20 million fine against Chuks Nwachukwu, a lawyer representing five FCT residents in a suit seeking an order to stop the swearing-in of President Bola Tinubu over lack of 25 per cent votes in the FCT.

Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a judgment, struck out the suit on the grounds that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi to institute the matter.

Justice Inyang Ekwo also awarded the sum of N20 million in cost against the FCT residents’ lawyer, Chuks Nwachukwu, for engaging in professional misconduct in instituting a frivolous suit.

The court, which failed to deliver the ruling on May 26 after the filing of responses by the FCT residents, held that they lacked the locus standi to bring the action.

The residents/voters are represented by Anyaegbunam Ubaka Okoye, David Aondover Adzer, Jeffrey Oheobeh Ucheh, Osang Paul and Chibuke Nwachukwu brought the ex parte motion against the Attorney General of the Federation and the Chief Justice of Nigeria over the matter.

The court had sought responses from the residents/voters bordering on three questions of whether they had the locus standi to bring the suit and the jurisdiction, and whether there is a similar matter before the presidential elections court.

But in his ruling on Tuesday, Justice Ekwo said the residents and voters failed to demonstrate to the court that similar subject is not pending before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which proceedings are ongoing.

Justice Ekwo consequently ordered the lawyer to pay the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), listed as 1st and 2nd defendants in the case, the sum of N10 million each.

He directed that until Nwachukwu paid off the N20 million fine, no further action should be taken in the matter.

The judge, who condemned Nwachukwu’s comments in the media, said with his interview, if the lawyer was in the courtroom, he would have been barred “from practising until he appears before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) to determine whether he is fit to practise the profession.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Ekwo said upon reading the affidavit attached to the application, “I can discern that the averments thereof are merely the voice of Esau and the hands of Jacob.

“It means that the said Chucks Nwachukwu of counsel for the plaintiffs instigated this suit and merely got the plaintiffs to stand in as parties while he handles the suit as a lawyer.

“This is an unprofessional conduct on the part of the said Chucks Nwachukwu of counsel of the plaintiffs.

“It is unfortunate that lawyers like Chucks Nwachukwu of counsel to the plaintiffs continue to engage in this sort of activity by procuring innocent citizens to act as fronts in litigations which are actually their personal cases.

“This is done with such impunity and lack of fear of the consequence to the chagrin and ruin of the reputation of the legal system in this country.

“It is so because the learned counsel has made himself to believe that he can flout the Rule of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners without any consequence.

“On the whole I find that this action is premised on recklessness, frivolity and complete lack of knowledge of elementary principle of law as it relates to the Constitution and Electoral Act, 2022,” he said.

According to the judge, in my opinion, this action was willfully initiated to not just circumvent but to overreach the on-going proceedings of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

“The aim thereof which cannot be denied, is to plunge this country into unprecedented constitutional anarchy capable of causing bloodshed and genocide.

“The plaintiffs and their lawyer ought to be deprecated in the strongest term for this type of adventure and I so do,” Justice Ekwo declared.

“But since he is not in court, I make an order, directing the registrar to forward all the processes to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) to determine whether he is fit to practise the profession.”