ADC Accuses FG of Interfering in Court Case, Warns Against Pressure on Judge

 

ABUJA, Nigeria— The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused federal government agents of interfering in an ongoing court case involving Nafiu Bala Gombe, alleging covert pressure on Hon. Justice Nwite to recuse himself from the matter.

In a statement on Wednesday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the ADC had uncovered what it described as a plot by “desperate forces within the corridors of power” to frustrate the course of justice by pushing for the judge’s withdrawal so the case could be reassigned to judges perceived as politically compliant.

“This sinister plot, if allowed to stand, represents a direct assault on the integrity of the judiciary and a dangerous escalation in the ongoing attempts to weaponise state institutions against the opposition,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC said it had credible information that despite the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment not yet being released or formally communicated to the trial court, the case was curiously fixed before Justice Nwite for May 8, 2026. The party argued that the timing suggested a scheme to force the judge into recusing himself, creating room for the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to transfer the matter to judges allegedly considered more amenable to political influence.

The party maintained that the development contradicts directives from the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, which ordered accelerated hearing of the matter by the substantive trial judge.

“Any attempt to remove the case from Justice Nwite, whether by administrative manipulation, intimidation, blackmail, or coordinated pressure, amounts to a deliberate interference in the due administration of justice,” Abdullahi stated.

The ADC called on the National Judicial Council, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the international community, and diplomatic missions in Nigeria to intervene and safeguard judicial independence. It warned that attempts to procure “friendly courts” and “convenient judges” pose a grave danger to opposition parties and to constitutional democracy itself.

The party stressed that judicial recusal is not a tool for political convenience and that due process requires all parties to be notified and heard before any decision is taken.

“Nigeria’s democracy is too fragile to survive another season of judicial recklessness,” the statement concluded.