…As ADC spits fire
CITIZENS COMPASS— A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sacked former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), while also nullifying the leadership of former Senate president, David Mark, as the party leader.
Meanwhile, ADC has warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is playing with fire in its attempts to cripple the opposition.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Peter Lifu
ADC said the judgment was aimed at denying Nigerians the right to choose their leaders in the 2027 general elections.
The party spoke in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, on Thursday.
“We have reasons to believe that the judgment has long been written on this case. The Sokoto rally was simply a trigger that stampeded its delivery. Yesterday, Nigerians came out in their hundreds of thousands to demonstrate their support for the ADC and our promise of making life affordable for them. Today, they are being told that the party that they support and the candidates that they support and the candidates that they have supported at all levels could be erased by the stroke of a reckless judicial pen,” the statement read.
The opposition party questioned the implications of the judgment, arguing that the dispute was beyond the political fortunes of Atiku and Mark, as it could affect thousands of ADC candidates seeking elective positions across the country.
“Do these people understand what they are playing with? This is not about Atiku Abubakar or David Mark. It is about the democratic rights of Nigerians to freely choose their own leaders. It is about the rights of thousands of candidates to participate in a democratic process. “Our objection is particularly anchored on the subsisting judgment of Justice Musa Liman of the same Federal High Court, delivered on 2 July 2026 in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, which affirmed the legitimacy of the David Mark-led NWC and directed INEC to recognise the leadership. It is a settled principle of Nigerian jurisprudence that a court of coordinate jurisdiction cannot sit on appeal over, review, vary or nullify the subsisting judgment of another court of equal jurisdiction.
“The ADC, therefore, rejects any consequential orders founded on a determination that appears to disregard these fundamental legal principles. However, we await the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the said judgment to ascertain its precise terms, scope and operative orders.
“We have seen this script before. When they are scared that the opposition is gathering steam, they use their judges in the courts to influence legally indefensible judgments. But the millions of Nigerians that are hungry and waiting for them at the ballot box see right through them and will not sit down in silence while our democracy is taken away by the courts.
“We warn the APC: do not play with fires you cannot control. The peace and stability of Nigeria are bigger than the ambition of any president or political party. Nobody should be so desperate to retain power that they are prepared to put the entire country at risk. This is not the time
to play silly games with the stability of this country.
“Nigeria belongs to Nigerians, not to the APC. The presidency is not an inheritance. If the President thinks he has performed well in office, why is he afraid of competition? If the APC thinks that its policies and candidates are popular, why don’t they subject themselves to free and fair elections?”
