Members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Wednesday staged a protest at the Federal High Court in Abuja over the alleged delay in releasing the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment nullifying the National Working Committee (NWC) led by former Senate President, David Mark.
The protesters called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to intervene, accusing the trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, of withholding the November 5 judgment despite an application by the party’s lawyers and payment of the prescribed fees.
They argued that the delay was frustrating the party’s efforts to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal and could undermine its constitutional right to seek redress.
In the letters, titled, “Urgent Appeal for Diplomatic Attention and Support for Due Process, the Right of Appeal and Credible Elections in Nigeria”, they sought international attention to the controversy surrounding the judgment in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe against the ADC and others.
Speaking during the protest, a former Acting Chairman of the ADC in the Federal Capital Territory, Yusuf Shehu Tijani, described the judgment as a sham and accused the judge of frustrating the party’s right of appeal by failing to release its certified copy.
Tijani questioned the decision of the Federal High Court in view of what he described as the Supreme Court’s recognition of Mark’s leadership of the party.
He said, “Our reason for coming here today is what Justice Lifu is doing. He is holding on to the sham judgment he said he passed. He should send the CTC, so that we can get it and appeal the judgment.
“Moreover, the Supreme Court already affirmed the leadership of Senator David Mark as the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress. So why is the High Court going against that recognition?”
“The protest is to call on the NJC to pressure this man, let him do what is right, because justice must prevail in Nigeria. This is not a jungle. This is a country that has laws, that has rules, and we have to follow the Constitution of the country,” he added.
The protest followed a November 10 petition by members of the ADC candidates’ forum to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, demanding the immediate release of the judgment.
The petition, signed by Audu Aliyu on behalf of the candidates, said the party’s lawyers applied for the CTC immediately after the judgment was delivered on November 5 and paid the required fees.
However, they alleged that repeated visits to the court registry had yielded no result, five days after the judgment.
The candidates warned that the delay could render their constitutional right of appeal meaningless, particularly with critical electoral deadlines approaching.
“We disagree with the judgment. We have a constitutional right to appeal it. But we cannot appeal what we do not have,” the petition stated.
Copies of the petition were also sent to the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the NJC, INEC Chairman, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abuja branch, and the Inspector-General of Police.
The November 5 judgment nullified Mark’s emergence as ADC National Chairman and invalidated decisions taken by the party under his leadership, including the process that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
Justice Lifu also directed INEC not to recognise or act on decisions taken at the party’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting held on July 27, 2025.
The judgment followed a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC (North-East), who claimed that he was constitutionally entitled to assume the party’s leadership following the resignation of its former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu.
Meanwhile, the ADC filed a notice of appeal on November 6 and applied for a stay of execution, urging INEC not to take any action capable of prejudicing the outcome of the appeal.
