*Party chieftain asks judge to recuse self over pending petition at NJC
*Our party won’t collapse into existing ones to win elections, says Bolaji Abdullahi
Hammed Shittu in Ilorin and Alex Enumah in Abuja
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, will today begin a speedy trial in the suit challenging the leadership of African Democratic Congress (ADC), under Senator David Mark.
Lifu had last week ordered accelerated hearing and adjourned to today, Monday, June 8, for commencement of hearing, after directing all parties in the suit to file and exchange their various processes for and against the suit.
Meanwhile, a chieftain of ADC, Nkemakolam Ukandu, asked the judge to withdraw from further hearing in the suit, citing a petition filed against him and Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, pending at the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Ukandu, who is Welfare Secretary of ADC, predicated his motion for recusal on four grounds, saying, “The subject matter of the petition and the suit is on grounds of corruption, abuse of judicial powers, disobedience to court orders, and bias by Hon. Justice John Tsoho and Hon, Justice Peter Lifu against the applicant.”
The request came barely 24 hours after the applicant filed a suit against NJC, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, and Lifu, accusing them of corruption, disobedience to the orders of the Supreme Court, as well as manifest bias.
The request came barely 72 hours after National Secretary of ADC, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, filed a similar suit asking Lifu to recuse himself from the party’s leadership suit over alleged “lack of confidence” in the judge’s impartiality.
Aregbesola, in the motion on notice dated and filed June 1, by his lawyer, Mohammed Sheriff, stated that the constitution guaranteed every litigant a hearing before an independent and impartial panel. He accused Lifu of bias in his ruling in a separate suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators vs. INEC & 6 others; where ADC was the third defendant.
Ukandu, in the Motion on Notice dated and filed June 5, submitted that it would be in the interest of justice and respect for the protection of the sanctity of the judiciary that Lifu recused himself from the suit and/or transfer the case file of the matter back to the Chief Judge or stay further proceedings in the matter pending the hearing and determination of the petition before NJC.
An aggrieved National Deputy Chairman of ADC, Nafiu Bala Gombe, had approached the court for an order restraining the Mark leadership from parading themselves as leaders of ADC pending the hearing and determination of his suit challenging their leadership.
He had also asked the court to issue another order against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), restraining it from recognising the Mark leadership.
But, in his ruling in the interlocutory application, Justice Emeka Nwite ordered Gombe to put the defendants on notice so that they could appear before the court to show cause why the application should not be granted.
Rather than appearing before the trial court to show cause, the defendant appealed to the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal, challenging the jurisdiction of the trial court to dabble into the matter they described as internal matters of ADC.
The appellate court, in dismissing the appeal for lacking in merit, ordered accelerated hearing in the suit and further ordered all parties to maintain status quo ante bellum.
Dissatisfied, Mark approached the Supreme Court for an order setting aside the status quo ante bellum order, as well as another order declaring that the two lower courts erred in law by entertaining Gombe’s suit being a subject matter of the internal affairs of ADC.
While the apex court had in its judgement set aside the order for status quo ante bellum, the five-member panel returned the matter to the trial court for accelerated trial.
However, the trial could not proceed on May 8 due to a request by the plaintiff for a transfer of the case from the former judge, Justice Emeka Nwite.
Besides, the former judge had adjourned the suit indefinitely, pending the submission of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgement of the Supreme Court as well as the decision of the Federal High Court Chief Judge (CJ), Justice John Tsoho, on the letter of the plaintiff seeking the transfer of the case to another judge.
Following a recommendation by NJC for the appointment of Nwite as a Justice of the Court of Appeal, the matter was reassigned to Lifu; a development that led to a petition against the chief judge and Lifu at NJC, as well as the current suit marked: FHC/ ABJ/ CS/ 1165/2026.
The applicant, in the suit, alleged that ADC would not get justice in the court of Lifu owing to his alleged relationship with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, whom he accused alongside the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to destroy opposition political parties in the country.
Abdullahi: ADC Won’t Collapse into Existing Political Parties to Win Elections
National Publicity Secretary of ADC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party would not collapse into any of the existing political parties, formed before it, for election victory. Abdullahi, a former Minister of Youths and Sports, stated this in Ilorin, weekend, when he hosted members and leaders of ADC in Kwara State to mark the just concluded Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
Abdullahi said ADC would welcome alliance with any of the parties based on political ideology.
Abdulahi, who is also a former Commissioner for Education in Kwara State, said the party elected credible candidates at its primaries for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate, and governorship, adding that members of the party in the state are increasing on daily basis.
He also said the party would embrace members from other parties willing to join the opposition party, adding, “Our door is wide open.”
The ADC spokesperson urged the electorate to rally round the party in the 2027 general election to rescue the country from the prevalent insecurity and economic crunch.
Abdulahi said ADC was capable of solving the challenges of insecurity in the country. He added that the ruling APC had caused untold hardship among Nigerians due to its economic policies.
He stated, “Reported cases of kidnapping, banditry and killing have taken a serious toll on people in various states of the country and this had brought a lot of serious concern. This must stop and ADC is capable of causing the necessary change to move Nigeria forward.”
While calling on members of the party to brace up for the tasks ahead, he also urged Nigerians to mobilise people to ensure electoral victory for ADC in the 2027 polls.
The party’s spokesperson, who assured members that ADC would form government in Kwara and Nigeria in 2027, said, “We have qualified and experienced candidates. We don’t have candidates that have been to EFCC before.”
He called for the support of the electorate, saying the tasks at hand are not only for candidates, as the change in leadership cannot occur without the support of the people.
