Imo Governorship Election: Supreme Court imposes N40m fine on Mike Ozekhome over frivolous suit

The Supreme Court on Tuesday in Abuja imposed a fine of N40M on human rights activists and Constitutional lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome for filing a frivolous, vexatious and irritating motion before the Court in respect of Imo Governorship tussle decided in 2019.

Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) called to the Nigerian Bar over 42 years ago and was fined a huge amount for bringing a motion before the Apex Court seeking to revalidate the suit that removed Emeka Ihedioha as Governor of Imo State in 2019.

The senior lawyer was ordered in a ruling by Justice Tijani Abubakar to personally pay the N40 million fine to four respondents he dragged before the Court.

Those to be paid are the Action People’s Party (APP) Uche Nnadi, Uche Nwosu and the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.

In the motion considered to be frivolous by the Court, Ozekhome had asked the Court for a consequential order to compel INEC to issue a fresh Certificate of Return to Ihedioha to enable him spend a four-year tenure as Imo Governor.

His grouse was that the incumbent governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma unlawfully spent the four years that Ihedioha ought to spend.

Among others, Ozekhome in the motion claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had no candidate in the 2019 Imo Governorship election, hence, Uzodinmma ought not to have been made governor on the platform of APC.

However, the Apex Court dismissed the motion on the ground that it has no jurisdiction to entertain such a motion.

Justice Abubakar held in the ruling that the request was strange, frivolous, baseless, unwarranted, vexatious and irritating.

He further held that the motion was a calculated design to demonize the Supreme Court.