The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed requests by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its National Secretary, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, seeking the withdrawal of Justice Peter Lifu from a leadership dispute involving the party, ordering both applicants to pay a combined N1 million in costs.

In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, Justice Lifu held that the applications failed to establish any credible basis for his recusal and described the allegations against the court as unfounded.

The judge said the motions were unsupported by evidence and appeared designed to delay proceedings in a matter already slated for accelerated hearing.

He maintained that a careful review of the affidavits and arguments presented by all parties showed no sign of prejudice or partiality on the part of the court.

Justice Lifu noted that the requests for his withdrawal were filed before substantive proceedings had commenced, making the claims of bias difficult to justify.

He warned that permitting such applications without convincing proof could encourage litigants to undermine the judicial process by targeting judges whenever court proceedings appeared unlikely to favour them.

According to him, courts must guard against attempts by parties to influence judicial assignments through baseless allegations.

The judge further observed that judges are designated to cases through established administrative procedures and not at the preference of litigants.

He consequently dismissed both applications and awarded N500,000 costs against each applicant in favour of the plaintiff.

Proceedings earlier took a dramatic turn when Kalu-Kalu Agu, counsel to ADC National Welfare Secretary Nkemakolam Ukandu, argued that the court should suspend delivery of the ruling.

Agu contended that a judgment delivered a day earlier directing the deregistration of ADC had effectively extinguished the party’s legal status, thereby affecting its participation in the current proceedings.

However, Justice Lifu questioned the lawyer’s standing in the matter, while counsel to the plaintiff, Robert Emukpoeruo (SAN), argued that Ukandu had not yet become a party to the suit because his application for joinder was still pending.

After hearing submissions from lawyers representing the various parties, the court proceeded with the ruling.

Justice Lifu clarified that the leadership dispute before him was entirely separate from the case in which the court ordered ADC’s deregistration and was therefore not affected by that decision.

The matter was subsequently adjourned until June 23 for the hearing of outstanding applications.

The suit was instituted by Nafiu-Bala Gombe, a member of the party, who is challenging the legitimacy of the current ADC leadership.

Gombe is seeking a court order preventing Senator David Mark, Aregbesola and members of the interim National Working Committee from acting or presenting themselves as officials of the party.

He argues that their emergence as leaders of the ADC did not comply with the party’s constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.

The defendants in the suit are ADC, Senator David Mark, Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and former ADC National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu.