The National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rauf Aregbesola, has filed a motion asking Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja to withdraw from the suit challenging the legitimacy of the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the party.
The development comes as Justice Lifu fixed today, June 3, for the first hearing in the case.
Justice Lifu took over the suit, originally filed by a former Deputy National Chairman of the APC, Nafiu Bala Gombe, after the plaintiff successfully pushed for the previous judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, to step down over allegations of bias.
In the motion filed by his lawyer, Mohammed Sheriff, Aregbesola stated that his request for the judge’s recusal is hinged on lack of confidence in the court.
The applicant argued that the 1999 Constitution guarantees every litigant a hearing before an independent and impartial panel. He stressed that certain circumstances have arisen in the matter which create a reasonable apprehension of bias, warning that forcing the proceedings forward could severely undermine public confidence in the administration of justice.
Aregbesola pointed out that his concern stems from a separate suit, marked ABJ/CS/2637/2026, between the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), where the court allegedly delivered rulings against established legal principles.
He claimed that the court had ordered an accelerated hearing despite the case not being a pre-election matter, and refused two motions for stay of proceedings.
According to the applicant, the court ordered parties to enter their defense and adjourned for judgment despite being notified of a pending appeal.
He noted that during the proceedings of May 22 under Appeal Number: CA/ABJ/CV/569/2026, the Court of Appeal expressed indignation at the trial court’s stance and directly granted an order to stay further proceedings.
This development follows a formal petition submitted to the National Judicial Council (NJC) seeking the total removal of both the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Tsoho, and Hon. Justice Peter Lifu. The petition, filed by Nkemakolam Ukandu and received by the Office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria on June 2, 2026, focuses on the handling of SUIT NO: FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025.
The document alleges that on April 30, 2026, the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Appeal No: SC/CV/180/2026 had explicitly ordered this leadership case to be remitted back to Justice Emeka Nwite. Instead of complying, Chief Judge Tsoho administratively reassigned the case to Justice Lifu.
The petition further states that on May 8, 2026, Justice Nwite had ordered the Plaintiff to furnish a certified true copy of the Supreme Court judgment and adjourned the matter sine die to enable compliance. Rather than waiting for the documentation, Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu allegedly bypassed the process to fix today’s hearing.
The petition notes that under Section 287(1) of the Constitution, Supreme Court decisions are binding, and reassigning the case allowed the plaintiff to engage in “forum shopping.” It also levelled political allegations, claiming that Justice Tsoho routinely assigns sensitive political matters to a specific circle of jurists, adding that Justice Lifu is frequently nicknamed a “Wike Judge” due to a record of rulings favouring political interests aligned with Nyesom Wike.
The petitioner has urged the NJC to investigate the matter, find both judges in abuse of judicial power, and apply strict disciplinary measures, including a recommendation for their removal from office.