Federal High Court fines ADC and Aregbesola N500,000 each for baseless recusal bid
Federal High Court Judge Peter Lifu in Abuja fined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its interim National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola N500,000 each on Tuesday for filing a baseless recusal application against him. The judge ruled their June 8 request for his withdrawal from a party leadership dispute suit lacked merit and contained no credible evidence of bias, describing it as an abuse of court process and forum shopping attempt to move the case to a more favorable judge.
The recusal application related to a suit filed by ADC member Nafiu-Bala Gombe challenging the legitimacy of interim national chairman David Mark and secretary Aregbesola's appointments. Judge Lifu emphasized that courts must not grant baseless recusal requests to prevent litigants from choosing preferred judges, warning such actions set dangerous precedents. This ruling follows his Monday order directing INEC to deregister ADC and four other parties for alleged constitutional breaches.
The case was adjourned to June 23 for hearing of all pending applications in the leadership dispute. With ADC facing deregistration and now sanctioned for procedural abuse, what does this mean for opposition parties navigating Nigeria's volatile political landscape—will they adapt to stricter judicial scrutiny or risk further sanctions?