…Northern Youths, Lawyer Decry Judgement
Chuks Nwachuku, a lawyer and former presidential candidate and Comrade Sani Abubakar, president of Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), have condemned the sacking of David Mark-led African Democratic Congress (ADC) National Working Committee (NWC) and the invalidation of the candidacy of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Recall that the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday nullified the leadership of the ADC led by former Senate President David Mark and invalidated all decisions taken by the party under its leadership, including the emergence of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
Justice Peter Lifu, in his judgment, declared the Mark-led Caretaker Committee illegal, nullifying the process through which it conducted the party’s presidential primary that produced Atiku as its flag bearer.
The court also nullified the emergence of former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, as National Secretary, as well as the appointments of other national officers and the nominations of candidates presented by the party for the 2027 elections.
The judgment followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, instituted by former ADC Deputy National Chairman (North-East), Nafiu Bala Gombe, who challenged the process through which Mark and other members of the caretaker committee assumed control of the party.
Gombe argued that following the resignation of the former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, he was constitutionally entitled to take over the party’s leadership.
He consequently asked the court to invalidate the actions of the Mark-led leadership and restrain Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as National Chairman and National Secretary of the party, respectively.
The ADC, the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu were listed as defendants in the suit.
Upholding Gombe’s case, Justice Lifu held that the emergence of the Mark-led leadership violated the ADC constitution, relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution.
The court also ordered INEC not to recognise or act on decisions taken at the party’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting held on July 27, 2025.
According to Nwachuku, the judgement shows a nation that doesn’t have the basic and minimal competence to sustain itself.
“What Lifu has done is a threat to democracy, a threat to the nation, and anyone that doesn’t recognise it as such is blind. I’ve come to the conclusion that if we scatter, it shouldn’t be because of the problems that we have, but it’s because of our low intelligence. We suffer from a debilitating low intelligence. We cannot protect ourselves. Law is primarily for the protection of the state.
“We’re going to have elections in a couple of months, and you’re delegitimizing a political party. You know that the right to form a political party is basic to democracy. So, Peter Lifu should be jailed, as far as I’m concerned.
“He has committed treason. If we knew what we were doing, and when he started this rubbish, there wasn’t enough from the Supreme Court to hold him in check. Now he threatens the entire nation. Because when they corrected him the first time, the language wasn’t strong enough. That’s why he’s done this again. As far as I’m concerned, this is high treason, coming from a judge. It’s a threat to the society, it’s a threat to democracy, it’s a threat to every Nigerian. Because he’s attacking our right to vote for a candidate of our choice, to elect our own leaders.
Abubakar on his party said, “It’s expected that every judicial system of a country or every judicial apparatus of a country should be fully independent and have the interest of the nation at heart. But unfortunately, we have a compromised judiciary.
He warned that the judgement has the capacity to cause chaos in the country. “Lifu’s judgement will run the country into chaos. Already we have a nation that is very fragile, with a lot of uncertainty. As a judge, you’ll be giving judgment at a very critical time where Nigerians are already deciding who they want to make their president. So, it’s very shameful.
“I’ll describe his acts as a very shameful act. He’s not different from Nafiu Bala. They’re two same elements, they’re on the same pedestal. He’s a learned person but he has allowed himself to be used by the political actors in the country. So we say no to the judgment given today. We believe that the appellate court will do something that won’t put our country into chaos. I know Atiku will appeal this. I know the ADC will appeal this. I believe in the power of the appellate court to give a judgment that will stand the test of time and be in the interest of Nigerians.”
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