***Justice  Lifu sacks David Mark-led ADC NWC, invalidates Atiku’s nomination

*** ‘ADC, Atiku fault timing of judgement, head to appeal,

***NJC hammer falls on three judges

By Eze Nnadi 

With barely 70 days to the January 16, 2027 presidential election, anxiety and uncertainty may have returned in the camp of the opposition Africa Democraric Congress (ADC), as a Federal High Court in Abuja has on Thursday, invalidated the candidacy of its  presidential candidate, Atiku Abubarkar

The court, presided over by Justice Peter Leefu , similarly sacked the Senator David Mark-led executives of the party, just as it declared all actions taken by the NWC on behalf of the party as null and void.

It would be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier published the former vice president’s name as well as that of his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi as the ADC flag bearers ahead of the presidential election, and they have already commenced campaign with a mega rally in Sokoto State on Tuesday.

Delivering judgement in a suit brought before it by the Nafiu Bala Gombe-led faction of the party, Justice Peter Lifu upheld the submissions of the plaintiff, and declared the Senator Mark-led National Working Committee (NWC) illegal.

The court, similarly invalidated the all primary elections organised by the leadership , including the emergence of Atiku Abubarkar as the party’s presidential candidate.

Gombe, a former National Vice chairman of the ADC, had rejected the process through which the Senator Mark-led Committee took over the reins of leadership of the party.

He argued that with the resignation of the former National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu, he (Gombe) was qualified to assume the party’s leadership, and therefore prayed the court to declare him the authentic National Chairman of the ADC, following Nwosu’s resignation. 

The plaintiff in the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, which also listed  the ADC, INEC, Senator Mark, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Chief Ralph Nwosu as defendants further urged the court to restrain Senator Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as National Chairman and Secretary, respectively, of the ADC, insisting that their emergence violated the party’s constitution and the provisions of the Electoral Act.

The court said it saw merit in Hombes submission , therefore upheld the claims and granted his reliefs

Reacting to the judgement, counsel for Gombe, Lukman Fagbemi (SAN), said, “All the actions taken by the ADC as a party since July 27 to date stand annulled.”

Also Luka Musa Haruna (SAN), another counsel to the plaintiff emphasised that  the judgment has left the ADC without candidates for any elective position in the 2027 elections, from the presidency to the governorship, Senate and House of Assembly.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the judgment 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 signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the timing of the judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, 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).

“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.”

The ADC questioned whether those behind the 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 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.

“We therefore 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?”

“This is not just about the ADC or Atiku Abubakar; it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good.”

The ADC cautioned the judiciary not to allow itself to be used in foisting a dictatorship on Nigeria, even as it urged its members and supporters across the country to remain calm and law abiding while the party pursuers all legal means to address the situation.

Also, presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, has swiftly rejected Thursday’s court judgment on the sacking of it’s leadership, and invalidating his candidacy, describing it as a calculated attempt to weaken the ADC and frustrate his candidacy.

The former vice president, in a statement issued by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said the timing of the judgment was telling.

He recalled that the judgement came a day after the party  flagged off it’s presidential campaign with what he described as an intimidating mammoth crowd turned out in Sokoto

He said, “The people of Sokoto came out in their thousands because they are hungry for change and believe in our promise to make life affordable again. What we witnessed in Sokoto is only the beginning. The people of Kebbi will have their say, and so will Nigerians across the country as our campaign moves forward.”

“My roots are in Northern Nigeria, but my candidacy belongs to all Nigerians. There is a difference between being from the North and being a candidate only for the North. Hunger and hardship do not respect regional boundaries. Nigerians across the country are suffering under this government, and they deserve a leader with a credible plan to make life affordable again.

“The timing of this judgment is no coincidence. It is part of a strategy to weaken my support in the North and frustrate a campaign whose message is resonating across the country. But the ruling party’s greatest miscalculation is to assume that my support ends in the North. What we saw in Sokoto, what we will see in Kebbi and across the country, is the strength of a national movement.”

Atiku further faulted the judgment, arguing that it also raises serious legal concerns.

“Justice Musa Liman of the same Federal High Court had already dismissed the challenge to the David Mark-led leadership in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025. The court upheld the defendants’ objections on jurisdiction, standing and the failure to exhaust internal party remedies, and resolved the substantive issues in their favour. Why, after that judgment, was another case filed to reopen the same dispute? This is a calculated attempt to circumvent a subsisting judgment. We will challenge this judicial manoeuvre at the Court of Appeal.”

Atiku urged ADC supporters to remain calm and law-abiding and not to let the judgment weaken the momentum generated in Sokoto. The campaign train is already in Kebbi and will continue across the country.

“Our journey to rescue Nigeria from the hardship imposed by the APC government is a long one. Our Affordable Life campaign will continue because Nigerians deserve relief from this crushing cost-of-living crisis. We urge our supporters to remain resolute, take our message from house to house and door to door, and stay peaceful and focused. There is no shaking.”

Meanwhile, this is even as the National Judicial Council (NJC)  has taken disciplinary actions against three judicial officers following  investigations into complaints brought against their  judicial actions.

The NJC sanction against the judges were approved at the Council’s 112th meeting on November 3, 2026, under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.Buy Maps

The suspended officers are Justice Hannatu Mohammed Kabir of the Nasarawa State High Court, Grand Kadi Mohammed Sani Salihu of the Jigawa State Sharia Court of Appeal and Justice Sobere Biambo of the Rivers State High Court.

Two of them, Justices Kabir and Biambo, were also barred from nomination for elevation for three years.

The findings against Justice Biambo are particularly troubling. The NJC said its investigation committee found that he ordered the arrest of petitioners over alleged disobedience of an interim injunction in a civil dispute and subsequently imposed fines of ₦300,000 on each of them.

The committee found that he did so without instituting contempt proceedings or serving the prescribed Forms 48 and 49. It held that the alleged contempt occurred outside the judge’s presence and therefore ought not to have been summarily tried and punished.

The Council consequently approved his suspension for one year without pay, alongside the three-year restriction on elevation.

Justice Kabir’s case was punished for approving the detention of a litigant for 58 days over alleged disobedience of  court orders. According to the NJC, the investigation committee found that the judge ordered the arrest and detention without issuing and serving the mandatory Forms 48 and 49 or instituting proper contempt proceedings.

The committee held that since the alleged contempt occurred outside the court’s presence, the litigant could not lawfully be summarily tried and punished. It also found that the action violated the litigant’s right to fair hearing.

Similarly Grand Kadi Salihu got the wrath of NJC, over his handling of a judgment delivered by an FCT Upper Area Court. The NJC said the investigation found that he exceeded his authority by constituting a committee to review the judgment and subsequently assigning the matter to a Higher Sharia Court judge, who received fresh evidence and delivered another judgment.

The committee held that the process amounted to an appeal against a valid judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction. The judgment was subsequently set aside by the Jigawa State High Court. The committee also found a breach of Rule 3.3.1 of the Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers, 2016.

The Council therefore directed the most senior Kadi of the Jigawa State Sharia Court of Appeal to henceforth perform the functions of the Grand Kadi during the period of the suspension.