The National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has asked Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja to recuse himself from the party’s leadership crisis suit filed by Mr Nafiu-Bala Gombe.
Aregbesola’s application came less than a day before the scheduled hearing of the suit seeking to stop the leadership of the ADC led by Senator David Mark from parading itself as the valid leadership of the party.
Justice Lifu had fixed the matter for hearing after the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, reassigned the case to him.
The suit was initially before Justice Emeka Nwite but was reassigned after Justice Nwite’s name was listed among 12 judges recommended for elevation to the Court of Appeal and forwarded to President Bola Tinubu for approval.
In a motion on notice dated June 1 and filed on June 2, Aregbesola, through his counsel, Mohammed Sheriff, asked Justice Lifu to withdraw from the case and return the file to the Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge.
Aregbesola, who is the third defendant in the suit, cited lack of confidence in the court as the basis of his application.
He argued that the 1999 Constitution guarantees every litigant the right to have his matter heard by an independent and impartial court.
According to him, certain circumstances had arisen in the case which created a reasonable apprehension of lack of confidence and could undermine public trust in the administration of justice.
Aregbesola referred to another suit, marked ABJ/CS/2637/2026, between the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators and INEC and six others, where the ADC was also a party.
He alleged that in that case, Justice Lifu gave rulings against established principles of law and against the interest of his party.
He claimed that the court ordered accelerated hearing even though the matter was neither a pre-election case nor one of urgent nature.
He further alleged that the court refused two applications for stay of proceedings and directed parties to enter their defence, adopt their processes and adjourned for judgment despite being informed that an appeal had already been entered before the Court of Appeal.
Aregbesola also said that during proceedings at the Court of Appeal on May 22 in appeal number CA/ABJ/CV/569/2026, counsel for the appellant informed the appellate court of Justice Lifu’s refusal to stay proceedings.
According to him, the Court of Appeal, displeased with the refusal, granted an order staying further proceedings.
“The applicant has no confidence in this court to administer justice in these proceedings,” he stated.
He maintained that it would be in the interest of justice for the matter to be heard by another judge, adding that a fair-minded observer would reasonably apprehend lack of confidence in the proceedings before Justice Lifu.
The substantive suit was filed by Gombe, a former National Deputy Chairman of the ADC, against the party, Senator David Mark, Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission and former ADC National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu.
Gombe is seeking an order restraining Mark, Aregbesola and members of their interim National Working Committee from parading themselves as leaders of the party.
He argued that the emergence of Mark, Aregbesola and other members of the interim NWC violated the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act.
Nwosu, who is listed as the fifth defendant, was the former national chairman of the party who stepped down for Mark’s leadership.
The suit comes amid deepening factional disputes within the ADC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar recently emerged as the presidential candidate of the Mark-led ADC after defeating former Rivers State governor and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and another aspirant at the party’s national convention.
In a separate convention conducted by another faction of the party, Dumebi Kachikwu emerged as the ADC presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
The faction had adopted Kachikwu, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, as its sole presidential candidate on May 24.
The hearing of Aregbesola’s recusal application and the substantive leadership dispute is expected to determine the next direction of the crisis within the ADC.
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