The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, and a judge of the court, Justice Peter Lifu, have asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a suit filed against them by the National Welfare Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Nkemakolam Ukandu.
Ukandu had sued the National Judicial Council, Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu over allegations of bias, corruption, abuse of judicial powers and alleged disobedience to court orders arising from the handling and reassignment of a pending ADC leadership dispute.
When the matter came up on Monday before Justice Salim Ibrahim, counsel to Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu, J.U.K. Igwe, SAN, informed the court that his clients had filed a conditional appearance, a joint preliminary objection and a joint statement of defence.
Igwe said the processes were dated and filed on June 19, 2026, and asked the court to fix a date for hearing of the preliminary objection.
“If it pleases your lordship, we can have a date for the hearing of our preliminary objection so that when we serve them, it will be known to them that it is for hearing,” Igwe said.
The senior lawyer also expressed concern that a legal practitioner could institute such an action against the Chief Judge and a judge of the Federal High Court over matters connected with case assignment and judicial proceedings.
However, when the matter was called, neither Ukandu nor the NJC was represented in court.
Justice Ibrahim asked whether hearing notices had been served on the plaintiff and the NJC. The court registrar confirmed that proofs of service were in the court file.
The judge, however, insisted on personally sighting the proofs of service, stressing that all parties must be duly served.
“I want to see the proof of service of the hearing notice because I personally told them to ensure that all parties were duly served. Henceforth, you must ensure within 24 hours that all parties are duly served,” Justice Ibrahim said.
The court later observed that the processes filed on behalf of Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu were not yet in the court file.
Justice Ibrahim subsequently adjourned the matter until June 30, 2026, for mention.
He ordered that Ukandu and the NJC be served with all processes filed in the matter and directed that fresh hearing notices be issued and served on both parties.
Ukandu’s suit seeks an order compelling the NJC to investigate allegations of corruption, manifest bias, abuse of judicial powers and alleged disobedience to court orders against Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu.
The dispute is linked to the leadership crisis within the ADC following recent political realignments in the party.
In the substantive suit, an aggrieved party member, Nafiu-Bala Gombe, sued the ADC, the party’s interim National Chairman, David Mark; interim National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola; the Independent National Electoral Commission; and Ralph Nwosu.
Gombe, who was a party official before recent defections altered the party’s leadership structure, is challenging the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola as national chairman and national secretary of the ADC, alleging that their appointments violated the party’s constitution.
The case was initially assigned to Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja. It later went to the Supreme Court before returning to the Federal High Court, where it was reassigned to Justice Lifu following an application by the applicant.
Ukandu had sought to join the suit through an application filed by his counsel, Kalu Agu, but the application was refused.
Following the refusal, Ukandu accused Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu of manifest bias and alleged that they were willing to act against the interest of the ADC.
He also faulted Justice Tsoho for reassigning the case to Justice Lifu after it was withdrawn from Justice Nwite, arguing that the reassignment disregarded orders of the Supreme Court and previous orders made by Justice Nwite.
The development comes after Justice Lifu imposed a fine of ₦500,000 each on the ADC and Aregbesola over their application seeking his withdrawal from the leadership dispute.
Justice Lifu imposed the fine while ruling on a recusal application filed by the ADC and Aregbesola, a former governor of Osun State and former Minister of Interior.
The main ADC leadership case is expected to continue separately, while Justice Ibrahim will on June 30 take further steps in Ukandu’s suit seeking an NJC investigation of Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu.
