The Supreme Court of Nigeria has imposed a hefty fine of N40 million on Senior Advocate Mike Ozekhome for filing what the court deemed a frivolous and vexatious motion related to the 2019 Imo State governorship election.
Ozekhome, who served as counsel for Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party, submitted the motion seeking to challenge the election results and remove Hope Uzodimma from his position as the governor of Imo State.
The Supreme Court, however, dismissed Ihedioha’s application, upholding Uzodimma’s governorship.
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Justice Tijjani Abubakar, delivering the lead judgment on Tuesday, declared that the application lacked merit and was both frivolous and vexatious. He emphasized the court’s lack of jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter, citing the expiration of the 60-day timeline stipulated for handling election-related disputes.
Consequently, Justice Abubakar imposed a N40 million fine on Mike Ozekhome. The Senior Advocate is required to pay this fine to the four respondents involved in the case: the Action Peoples Party, Uche Nnadi, Uche Nwosu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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Ozekhome’s motion had sought a consequential order to compel INEC to issue a fresh Certificate of Return to Emeka Ihedioha, asserting that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had no valid candidate in the 2019 Imo governorship election.
The court, however, deemed this claim unsubstantiated, leading to the substantial fine against Ozekhome.