The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government of interference in the ongoing case involving it and Nafiu Bala Gombe.
The party, in a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, alleged that agents of the government are mounting pressure on Justice Emeka Nwite to recuse himself from the matter so that it could be reassigned to judges perceived to be pliable and politically compliant.
“This sinister plot, if allowed to stand, represents a direct assault on the integrity of the judiciary and a dangerous escalation in the ongoing attempts to weaponise state institutions against the opposition,” the party stated.
ADC added that despite the fact that the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgement has not yet been released or formally communicated to the trial court, the matter has been fixed before Justice Nwite for May 8, 2026.
“We have credible reasons to believe that this unusual haste is part of a calculated scheme to force Justice Nwite into recusing himself, thereby creating an opening for the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to transfer the matter to judges allegedly considered more amenable to political influence.
“This development runs contrary to both the spirit and letter of the directives earlier issued by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, which ordered an accelerated hearing of the matter by the substantive trial judge,” the party stated
It warned that any attempt to remove the case from Justice Nwite, whether by administrative manipulation, intimidation, blackmail, or coordinated pressure, amounts to a deliberate interference in the due administration of justice.
According to ADC, judicial recusal is not a toy for political convenience, but an extraordinary measure guided by law, facts, and established judicial principles.
The party stated that even where petitions exist against a judicial officer, due process demands that all parties be notified and heard before any decision is taken.
“A judge does not abandon his constitutional duty merely because vested interests have manufactured allegations against him,” the statement added.
ADC accused the APC of trying “to bend the judiciary into an annex of partisan politics,” warning that the growing desperation to procure ‘friendly courts’ and ‘convenient judges’ poses a grave danger not only to opposition parties, but to the survival of constitutional democracy itself.
It called on the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and all men and women of conscience within the judiciary to urgently intervene and halt what it called “dangerous descent into judicial compromise.”
The party said the NJC, the international community, and diplomatic missions in Nigeria should impress it upon the Nigerian government that democracy cannot survive where courts are manipulated to serve partisan interests.
“The independence of the judiciary remains the bedrock of every democratic society, and any attempt by state actors to intimidate judges, influence judicial assignments, or interfere in politically sensitive cases strikes at the very heart of constitutional governance.
“Nigeria must not be allowed to slide into an era where justice is no longer determined by law, but by the whims of those who wield political power,” ADC further warned.
It recalled that the collapse of democratic order in Nigeria’s First and Second Republics, as well as the subversion of the June 12 mandate, could not be discussed without reference to the shameful roles played by some “judicial actors who wore the robes of judges by day and the garments of politicians by night.
“Those currently entrusted with the sacred responsibility of administering justice must resist every attempt to drag the judiciary into the muddy waters of political conspiracy.
“The judiciary must remain the last hope of the common man, and not the last refuge of desperate politicians terrified of justice.
“Nigeria’s democracy is too fragile to survive another season of judicial recklessness.”
