The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has petitioned the National Judicial Council, NJC, against Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, following the Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn a judgment that deregistered the party and four others.
The disclosure was made by the party’s lawyer, Alex Adum, during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show while reacting to the appellate court’s ruling, which set aside the Federal High Court’s decision.
Adum described the earlier judgment as a judicial overreach and argued that the Court of Appeal reaffirmed the principles of constitutionalism, the rule of law and Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.
According to him, the appellate court held that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to institute the case, a decision he said exposed serious flaws in the Federal High Court’s ruling.
“The ADC has filed a petition against Justice Lifu. The Court of Appeal judgment on the ADC’s validity is a return to constitutionalism, the rule of law and multiparty democracy in Nigeria.
“We are pleased that the Court of Appeal made far reaching pronouncements on the decision to deregister five political parties, which it ruled lacked merit.
“It was also strange that, despite all the evidence before him, Justice Lifu still went ahead to deliver that perverse judgment at the Federal High Court, which was an overreach,” Adum said.
The lawyer further alleged that similar judicial conduct had become common among some judges of the Federal High Court and called on the NJC to take disciplinary action.
“Several judges at the Federal High Court are fond of doing what Justice Lifu has been doing. Following the Court of Appeal’s decision, it has now become incumbent on the National Judicial Council to activate its disciplinary procedures and ensure that such judges are held accountable,” he added.
The Court of Appeal had overturned the Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of the ADC, Accord Party and three other political parties, bringing the litigation over their legal status to an end.
