The African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Thursday said it had uncovered a plot by desperate agents of the Federal Government to frustrate the course of justice by mounting pressure on Justice Emeka Nwite to step aside from the case involving Nafiu Bala Gombe for it to be reassigned to judges perceived to be pliable and politically compliant.
The party therefore warned the Federal Government to hands off judicial matters and immediately cease all alleged attempts to interfere in the matter.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the 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 weaponize state institutions against the opposition.
According to him, 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.
Abdullahi said, “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.”
He also noted that 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.
He added, “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.
Abdullahi 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 what he referred to as “dangerous descent into judicial compromise.”
Friday Olokor
