The leadership crisis within the African Democratic Congress intensified on Monday as key figures in the party moved to stall ongoing court proceedings challenging the legitimacy of its national leadership.
The case, before Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, resumed accelerated hearing following an earlier directive for fast-tracked determination of the suit filed against the party’s leadership structure linked to former Senate President, Senator David Mark.
However, proceedings took a new turn as the ADC National Secretary, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and the party’s Welfare Secretary, Nkemakolam Ukandu, separately raised objections seeking to halt or redirect the trial.
Aregbesola, through his counsel, Mohammed Sheriff, filed a motion urging the judge to recuse himself from the matter. He argued that there was a perceived lack of impartiality, insisting that no litigant should be subjected to a hearing before a court whose neutrality is in question.
Similarly, Ukandu also asked Justice Lifu to withdraw from the case, citing a petition he had previously submitted against the judge and the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, before the National Judicial Council (NJC). He alleged issues of corruption, abuse of judicial powers and bias, claiming that the matters raised in his petition were directly connected to the ongoing suit.
Ukandu further escalated the dispute by instituting a separate action against the NJC, Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu, accusing them of judicial misconduct and disregard for Supreme Court directives.
The suit at the centre of the controversy was filed by ADC National Deputy Chairman, Nafiu Bala Gombe, who is seeking to restrain Senator David Mark and his allies from presenting themselves as the party’s leadership pending the determination of the substantive matter.
He is also asking the court to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the Mark-led faction.
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Although earlier proceedings at the Court of Appeal dismissed a challenge to the trial court’s jurisdiction and ordered accelerated hearing, the matter has continued to generate legal and internal party tensions.
The case was initially assigned to Justice Emeka Nwite before being transferred to Justice Lifu following Nwite’s elevation to the Court of Appeal, a development that has further deepened divisions within the party.
The latest attempts to halt the proceedings are expected to be determined as the court continues hearing arguments in the politically sensitive dispute over the control and leadership of the opposition party.
