The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the judgment by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, sacking the Senator David Mark-led leadership and invalidating the candidacy of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as another desperate attempt to cripple the opposition and deny Nigerians the right to choose their leaders in the forthcoming general elections.
In a statement on Thursday, signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the timing of the judgment, barely 24 hours after the massive turnout at the ADC presidential campaign rally in Sokoto, exposes what it considers the growing desperation of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Abdullahi said the party has reasons to believe the verdict was long written and was only triggered by the success of the ADC presidential campaign rally in Sokoto on Wednesday.
He described Justice Lifu’s ruling as a stroke of the reckless judicial pen.
“We have reasons to believe that the judgment had long been written on this case. The Sokoto rally was simply a trigger that stampeded its delivery. Yesterday, Nigerians came out in their hundreds of thousands to demonstrate their support for the ADC and our promise of making life affordable for them. Today, they are being told that the party that they support and the candidates that they have supported at all levels could be erased by the stroke of a reckless judicial pen,” he said.
The ADC questioned whether those behind the flawed judgment had considered its far-reaching implications for the country, warning that the attempt to invalidate the party’s leadership could affect thousands of candidates contesting elections at the local, state and federal levels.
“Do these people understand what they are playing with? This is not about Atiku Abubakar or David Mark. It is about the democratic rights of Nigerians to freely choose their own leaders. It is about the rights of thousands of candidates to participate in a democratic process,” the ADC questioned.
The ADC maintained that the judgment is legally indefensible and would be challenged through every available judicial process.
“Our objection is particularly anchored on the subsisting judgment of Justice Musa Liman of the same Federal High Court, delivered on 2 July 2026 in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, which affirmed the legitimacy of the David Mark-led NWC and directed INEC to recognise the leadership. It is a settled principle of Nigerian jurisprudence that a court of coordinate jurisdiction cannot sit on appeal over, review, vary or nullify the subsisting judgment of another court of equal jurisdiction.
“The ADC, therefore, rejects any consequential orders founded on a determination that appears to disregard these fundamental legal principles. However, we await the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the said judgment to ascertain its precise terms, scope and operative orders.
“We have seen this script before. When they are scared that the opposition is gathering steam, they use their judges in the courts to influence legally indefensible judgments. But the millions of Nigerians that are hungry and waiting for them at the ballot box see right through them and will not sit down in silence while our democracy is taken away by the courts,” it added.
The ADC, therefore, warned the APC against pursuing what it described as a dangerous attempt to eliminate political competition through judicial controversies.
“We warn the APC: do not play with fires you cannot control. The peace and stability of Nigeria are bigger than the ambition of any president or political party. Nobody should be so desperate to retain power that they are prepared to put the entire country at risk. This is not the time to play silly games with the stability of this country.
“Nigeria belongs to Nigerians, not to the APC. The presidency is not an inheritance. If the President thinks he has performed well in office, why is he afraid of competition? If the APC thinks that its policies and candidates are popular, why don’t they subject themselves to free and fair elections?”
Naija News recalls that a Federal High Court in Abuja nullified the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by former Senate President David Mark and invalidated all decisions the party’s caretaker committee made, including the nomination of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
The judgment delivered on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu, declared the Mark-led caretaker committee illegal, ruling in favour of the party’s former national deputy chairman (north-east), Nafiu Bala Gombe.
The development comes barely 24 hours after Atiku held a massive rally in Sokoto State as part of his campaign for the 2027 presidential election.
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