A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, struck out the suit, which sought to withdraw of the Certificate of Return of Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege.
Delivering judgment in the suit, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, held that case was an abuse of court process.
The court also awarded a N300, 000 cost against the plaintiff.
Justice Mohammed said the money must be paid to each of the defendants.
Justice Mohammed berated the applicants, wondering why an issue already decided by Justice Othman Musa of the FCT High Court, Bwari, would be relisted at a federal high court.
The incorporated Trustees of Empowerment for Unemployed Youths Initiative, had, on May 19, approached the court, asking to order the withdrawal of the Certificate of Return issued to Omo-Agege.
Delivering his judgment, the judge upheld the preliminary objection filed by the respondents.
Mohammed noted that the plaintiff ought to have immediately withdrawn the suit on realising that an FCT court with coordinate jurisdiction with the Federal High Court, had already decided the issue in the suit.
“It is manifestly clear from the judgment alluded to that, that there was no conviction as alleged,” he held.
The judge said that contrary to the contention of the plaintiff, it was bound by the FCT High Court judgment despite not being a party to suit in which the said judgment was delivered.
“In the light of the above, the plaintiff is bound by the judgment of my brother, Justice O.A Musa of the FCT High Court delivered on January 29 wherein it was declared that the defendant was not convicted.
He said what the suit intended to do was to bring up the issue already laid to rest by judgment of the FCT High Court.
He added that by refusing to take an immediate step of withdrawing the suit on being aware of the FCT High Court judgment, the plaintiff “lends crendence to the contention of the counsel for the first defendant that the suit was filed in obvious attempt to annoy and irritate the first defendant.”
He added that he must therefore “truncate it at this point by dismissing without the need to consider other issues”.
He dismissed the suit with a punitive cost of N1.2m awarded against the plaintiff and its lawyer, Mr Omaga.
Justice Mohammed specifically ordered that the plaintiff and its lawyer must pay the sum of N300,000 to each of the four respondents – Omo-Agege, the Clerk of the National Assembly, APC and INEC.
In a suit filed through their lawyer, Edward Omaga, the group also prayed the court for N500m damages to be slammed on Clerk of the Senate for accepting to declare Omo-Agege as Deputy Senate President after his nomination and election on June 11, 2019.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/510/2020, the plaintiff said the lawmaker representing Delta Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly was not a competent, fit and proper person considering the alleged conviction hanging on his neck by a court in Los Angeles, California, United States on November 30, 1995.
The senator was allegedly sentenced to jail and suspended from law practice for two years for felony involving moral turpitude, forgery of cheques amounting to $890with which he intended to defraud the Bank of America.
Apart from Omo-Agege, also joined as defendants in the suit are the Clerk of the National Assembly, the All Progressives Congress and Independent National Electoral Commission.
In the affidavit in support of the originating summons deposed to by Comrade Solomon Adodo, a rights activist, the group also prayed the court for an order of perpetual injunction restraining Omo-Agege from representing Delta Central Senatorial District or such other similar offices in the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the ground that he is not competent, fit and proper person considering the conviction hanging on his neck in the US court.
The document revealed that Omo-Agege committed the offence in 1995, was found guilty and suspended from practicing for two years.
He was also placed on probation and mandated to take a multi-state professional responsibility examination before being admitted back to the US bar, according to the court document seen.
After his conviction, the Delta State-born lawyer returned to Nigeria where he soon delved into politics.
To have a smooth sail, he removed Augustine from his name and adopted his middle name, Ovie, perhaps in order to avoid any sort of linkage to his criminal past in California.
Meanwhile, the group said its suit was based on the grounds that Omo-Agege was not a competent, fit and proper person to occupy such an office considering the conviction hanging over his neck.
At the hearing of the suit on June 16, the respondents’ lawyers, Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN), representing Omo-Agege, Chikosolu Ojukwu representing the Clerk of the Senate and the APC, as well as Taminu Inuwa (SAN) for INEC, denied the alleged conviction, urged the court to dismiss the suit and award substantial cost against the plaintiff.
They all insisted that the appellate court in California in the US had cleared Omo-Agege of any wrongdoing in December 1996.
“Acquittal means legal certification that the accused is not guilty of the offence,” Izinyon had argued.
