Court Strikes Out ADC Official Suit Against Judges

The suit stemmed from the lingering leadership crisis within the ADC and was linked to a separate case instituted by an aggrieved party member, Nafiu-Bala Gombe, who is challenging the legitimacy of the party’s interim leadership headed by David Mark

kaNo —

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday struck out a suit filed by the National Welfare Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nkemakolam Ukandu, against the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, and Justice Peter Lifu, over alleged judicial bias, ordering him to pay a total cost of N100 million.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Salim Ibrahim struck out the suit on the grounds of lack of diligent prosecution after the plaintiff and his counsel failed to appear in court despite being duly served with hearing notices.

The judge ordered Ukandu to pay N50 million each to Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu within 14 days.

“Based on the provision of Order 19(1) of the Rules of this honourable court 2019, the court hereby makes an order striking out this suit for lack of diligent prosecution,” Justice Ibrahim ruled.

“It is further ordered that the plaintiff is to pay the sum of fifty million naira each to the second and third defendants within 14 days from the date of this order.”

Ukandu had dragged the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu to court, seeking an order compelling the council to investigate allegations of corruption, abuse of judicial powers and bias against the two judges.

The suit stemmed from the lingering leadership crisis within the ADC and was linked to a separate case instituted by an aggrieved party member, Nafiu-Bala Gombe, who is challenging the legitimacy of the party’s interim leadership headed by David Mark.

At Monday’s proceedings, only counsel representing Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu, J. U. K. Igwe (SAN), appeared in court.

Igwe informed the court that all parties had been duly served with hearing notices, adding that substituted service had been effected on Ukandu through the address he provided in his court filings.

He also confirmed that the NJC had been served in compliance with the court’s earlier directive.

“My lord, I will plead that this suit should be struck out on terms,” Igwe said.

When Justice Ibrahim sought clarification on the phrase “on terms,” the senior advocate explained that the request implied the imposition of costs on the plaintiff.

“This is deliberate. Under the specific rules of the court and the constitution, I am entitled to a cost for them evading the consequences of this litigation,” he argued.

Igwe cited Order 19(1) of the Federal High Court Rules, which empowers the court to strike out a matter where the plaintiff fails to appear, as well as Order 25(1)(d), which provides for the award of costs.

He further alleged that Ukandu deliberately changed his address during the proceedings to evade service.

“They brought the case and they were aware and not in today’s proceedings,” Igwe said.

“I have obeyed your lordship’s order that they should be served at their last known address. Therefore, I want the case to be struck out with a cost of N50 million to each of the second and third defendants. We can’t continue like this.”

The senior advocate also contended that judicial officers, as public office holders, are constrained from responding publicly to allegations made against them, thereby necessitating legal remedies to protect their integrity.

He drew the court’s attention to portions of Ukandu’s statement of claims, arguing that the plaintiff had made far-reaching allegations without legal standing.

“If your lordship looks at paragraphs five and six of the plaintiff’s statement of claims, he agreed that he applied to join a suit pending before the Federal High Court,” Igwe said.

“In paragraph five, he said he brought a motion to be joined and in paragraph six, he said the same joinder application is yet to be heard.

“And in a suit he has not joined, he wrote a letter to the Chief Judge not to assign the case to some judges. He said these particular judges are co-corrupt judges.

“My lord, the plaintiff has already concluded that the Chief Judge is corrupt.”

Igwe added that Ukandu had filed the suit, publicised it in the media and subsequently failed to pursue it in court.

“The second and third defendants deserve to be compensated. I will ask that they be given N50 million each and be paid within 14 or 30 days,” he said.

Court records indicate that neither Ukandu nor his counsel had appeared before Justice Ibrahim since the suit was filed.

At the previous hearing on June 30, the judge had warned that the matter could be struck out if the plaintiff again failed to appear.

However, in the interest of fair hearing, the court adjourned the case and ordered fresh hearing notices to be served.

The case also ties into Ukandu’s attempt to be joined in Gombe’s suit challenging the ADC leadership.

In his filings, Ukandu had accused Justice Tsoho of improperly reassigning the case from Justice Emeka Nwite to Justice Lifu, alleging that the move violated orders of the Supreme Court and demonstrated judicial bias.

ADC Raises Alarm Over Food Insecurity.

The African Democratic Congress,ADC has separately raised alarm over worsening food insecurity in Nigeria, blaming the administration of Bola Tinubu for what it described as policy failures and poor governance.

In a statement reacting to a recent report by the World Food Programme (WFP), the party’s spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, said more than 17 million Nigerians are facing acute hunger across conflict-affected northern states.

According to the WFP findings cited by the party, the number represents an increase of nearly two million people compared to earlier projections, with the crisis reaching alarming levels in states such as Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

Abdullahi described the situation as a “growing humanitarian disaster,” attributing it to insecurity, displacement of farming communities and economic policies that have pushed food beyond the reach of millions.

“The African Democratic Congress has received with profound concern the latest assessment by the United Nations World Food Programme, which confirms that Nigeria is now facing one of its worst food security emergencies in almost a decade,” he said.

“These are not opposition figures. They are not campaign slogans. They are the findings of the world’s leading humanitarian agency on hunger.”

He further accused the Federal Government of “cruel indifference” to the plight of citizens, arguing that the crisis was not a natural occurrence but the result of governance failures.

“In other words, the hunger confronting millions of Nigerians today is not a natural disaster. It is a government-created humanitarian disaster,” the statement added.

The party also linked the crisis to ongoing insecurity in rural areas, noting that banditry and terrorism have forced farmers off their land, thereby disrupting food production and supply chains.

While the Federal Government has yet to officially respond to the ADC’s latest claims, authorities have repeatedly maintained that efforts are ongoing to tackle insecurity and stabilise the economy.