By Lateef Ibrahim
The African Democratic Congress, (ADC), has warned the federal government to hands off judicial matters and immediately cease all alleged attempts to interfere in the ongoing case involving Nafiu Bala Gombe through covert pressure on Hon. Justice Nwite to recuse himself from the matter.
The party said this in a statement on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi in Abuja.
The coalition party disclosed that it has uncovered a disturbing plot by desperate forces within the corridors of power to frustrate the course of justice by mounting pressure on Justice Nwite to step aside from the case so that it can be reassigned to judges perceived to be pliable and politically compliant.
This sinister plot, if allowed to stand, ADC warned, 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.
According to the statement by Abdullahi, “Information available to the ADC Legal Team indicates that despite the fact that the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgment has not yet been released or formally communicated to the trial court, the matter has curiously been fixed before Justice Nwite for May 8, 2026.
“We have credible reasons to believe that this unusual haste is part of a calculated scheme to force Justice Nwite into recusing himself, thereby creating an opening for the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to transfer the matter to judges allegedly considered more amenable to political influence.
“This development runs contrary to both the spirit and letter of the directives earlier issued by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, which ordered an 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.
“We must state unequivocally that judicial recusal is not a toy for political convenience. It is an extraordinary measure guided by law, facts, and established judicial principles, not by whispers from desperate political actors seeking favourable outcomes through the backdoor.
“Even where petitions exist against a judicial officer, due process demands that all parties be notified and heard before any decision is taken. A judge does not abandon his constitutional duty merely because vested interests have manufactured allegations against him.
“What is unfolding before Nigerians is an alarming attempt to bend the judiciary into an annex of partisan politics. The growing desperation to procure “friendly courts” and “convenient judges” poses a grave danger not only to opposition parties, but to the survival of constitutional democracy itself”, it said.
The ADC has therefore called on the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and all men and women of conscience within the judiciary to urgently intervene and halt this dangerous descent into judicial compromise.
The party further called on the National Judicial Council (NJC), the international community, and diplomatic missions in Nigeria to pay close attention to “these dangerous developments and impress it upon the Nigerian government that democracy cannot survive where courts are manipulated to serve partisan interests”.
Continuing, the party said, “The independence of the judiciary remains the bedrock of every democratic society, and any attempt by state actors to intimidate judges, influence judicial assignments, or interfere in politically sensitive cases strikes at the very heart of constitutional governance.
“Nigeria must not be allowed to slide into an era where justice is no longer determined by law, but by the whims of those who wield political power.
“The collapse of democratic order in Nigeria’s First and Second Republics, as well as the tragic subversion of the June 12 mandate, cannot be discussed without reference to the shameful roles played by certain reckless judicial actors who wore the robes of judges by day and the garments of politicians by night.
“Those currently entrusted with the sacred responsibility of administering justice must resist every attempt to drag the judiciary into the muddy waters of political conspiracy.
