Court Dismisses ADC, Aregbesola Bias Allegations, Imposes ₦1 Million Fine

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its national secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, ₦1 million after rejecting their bid for the presiding judge to recuse himself from a leadership dispute within the party.

Justice Lifu stated that the allegations of bias were unsupported by any credible evidence.

The applications came after party member Nafiu‑Bala Gombe filed a suit challenging the legitimacy of the current ADC leadership, seeking to stop David Mark, Aregbesola and the interim National Working Committee from presenting themselves as the party’s leaders.

In separate motions, ADC and Aregbesola asked Justice Lifu to withdraw, claiming he was biased.

The judge found the reasons given in their affidavits irrelevant to the case and noted that the motions were filed before the court even assumed jurisdiction, making the bias claims hard to substantiate.

Justice Lifu warned that allowing litigants to pick their judges would undermine judicial integrity and encourage forum shopping.

He added that the court’s administrative arm assigns judges, and parties cannot choose who hears their case.

The judge described the request as speculative and warned that granting it without proof would set a dangerous precedent.

Consequently, he dismissed both applications and ordered ADC and Aregbesola to pay ₦500 000 each to Gombe, totalling ₦1 million.

Before the ruling, lawyer Kalu‑Kalu Agu argued that the court should not proceed because an earlier judgment had directed INEC to deregister ADC, rendering the party non‑existent.

Justice Lifu questioned Agu’s standing, noting he had not been formally joined to the suit, and Gombe’s counsel, Robert Emukpoeruo (SAN), countered that the prior judgment had no relevance to the current case.

Other lawyers representing David Mark, Aregbesola and former ADC chairman Ralph Nwosu also made submissions.

The judge clarified that the matter before him differed from the earlier case in which ADC was ordered deregistered.

The hearing was adjourned to June 23 for further arguments on pending applications.

Gombe’s lawsuit names ADC, David Mark, Aregbesola, INEC and Ralph Nwosu as defendants, asking the court to verify whether the current leadership emerged in accordance with the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.