The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the judgment by Justice Peter Lifu of a Federal High Court in Abuja,l which sacked the Senator David Mark-led management and invalidate the candidacy of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as one other determined try and cripple the opposition and deny Nigerians the appropriate to decide on their leaders within the forthcoming basic elections.
The ADC in an announcement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, mentioned the timing of the judgment, barely 24 hours after the huge turnout on the ADC presidential marketing campaign rally in Sokoto, exposes what it considers the rising desperation of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He mentioned, “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 or not these behind the flawed judgment had thought of its far-reaching implications for the nation, warning that the try and invalidate the celebration’s management may have an effect on hundreds of candidates contesting elections on the native, state and federal ranges.
“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 half added.
The ADC maintained that the judgment is legally indefensible and can be challenged by each accessible judicial course of.
The assertion reads, “Our objection is especially anchored on the subsisting judgment of Justice Musa Liman of the identical 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 management. It is a settled precept of Nigerian jurisprudence {that a} courtroom of coordinate jurisdiction can not sit on enchantment over, evaluate, fluctuate or nullify the subsisting judgment of one other courtroom of equal jurisdiction.
“The ADC, subsequently, rejects any consequential orders based on a willpower that seems to ignore these elementary authorized rules. However, we await the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the mentioned judgment to determine its exact phrases, 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.”
The ADC, subsequently, warned the APC in opposition to pursuing what it described as a harmful try and get rid of political competitors by judicial controversies.
“We warn the APC: don’t play with fires you can not management. The peace and stability of Nigeria are greater than the ambition of any president or political celebration. Nobody ought to be so determined to retain energy that they’re ready to place your entire nation in danger. This isn’t the time to play foolish video games with the soundness of this nation.
“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?”
The ADC calls on the judiciary to not permit itself for use in foisting a dictatorship on Nigeria.
“This is not just about the ADC or Atiku Abubakar; it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good.”
The celebration urged its members throughout the nation to stay calm and regulation abiding whereas the celebration pursuers all authorized means to deal with the state of affairs.
Friday Oloko
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