Three prominent members of Nigeria’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have formally petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC) to sanction Justice A.L. Akintola of the Oyo State High Court. The party leaders accuse him of judicial indiscretion and abuse of power.

The petitioners—Austin Nwachukwu, Amah Nnanna, and Turnah George—are currently plaintiffs in a case before the Abuja Federal High Court. This court had previously blocked the PDP’s national elective convention scheduled for mid-November in Ibadan.

Justice Akintola’s November 4 ruling directly contradicted this federal decision. He ordered the PDP and Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum to proceed with the convention. The petitioners, believed to be allies of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, assert this constitutes improper judicial overreach.

Core Allegations in the Petition

In their formal complaint, the PDP chieftains argue that Justice Akintola overstepped his authority. They note that state courts cannot act as appellate bodies over federal court judgments. His ex-parte order effectively reversed the Federal High Court’s binding decision.

“Even non-lawyers understand this basic jurisdictional limit,” the petition states. “By issuing this order, Justice Akintola appointed himself as an appellate judge. He knowingly varied a widely publicized federal judgment.”

The document emphasizes that Justice Omotosho’s Federal High Court ruling received extensive media coverage. Major outlets like NTA, Channels Television, and Daily Trust reported it nationally. This makes judicial ignorance implausible, according to the petitioners.

They characterize the Oyo judge’s actions as damaging to judicial reforms. The petition urges the NJC to investigate and “sanitize the judicial space.” This would preserve the judiciary’s integrity amid Nigeria’s political tensions.