APC Plotting To Set Nigeria On Fire With Court Judgment

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to plunge Nigeria into crisis through what it described as a desperate attempt to cripple the opposition following a Federal High Court judgment invalidating the leadership of Senator David Mark and the candidacy of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The party said the judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, was politically motivated, alleging that its timing, barely 24 hours after the massive turnout at its presidential campaign rally in Sokoto, exposed the ruling party’s growing panic over the rising popularity of the opposition.

In a statement on Thursday, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the judgment was an attempt to deny Nigerians the right to freely choose their leaders in the 2027 general elections.

“We have reasons to believe that the judgment had long been written on this case. The Sokoto rally was simply a trigger that stampeded its delivery,” Abdullahi said.

He alleged that the ruling was designed to erase the party and its candidates from the electoral contest despite what he described as overwhelming public support for its political platform.

The ADC warned that the consequences of the judgment extended beyond Mark and Atiku, arguing that it could jeopardise the candidacies of thousands of its members contesting elections at the local, state and federal levels.

“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,” the party said.

Challenging the legal foundation of the judgment, the ADC cited an earlier ruling by Justice Musa Liman of the same Federal High Court, delivered on July 2, 2026, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, which affirmed the legitimacy of the Mark-led National Working Committee and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the leadership.

It argued that a court of coordinate jurisdiction lacked the authority to review, vary or nullify a subsisting judgment of another court of equal jurisdiction. The party, however, said it was awaiting the Certified True Copy of Justice Lifu’s judgment to establish its precise terms and consequential orders.

The opposition party vowed to challenge the ruling through every available judicial process, while accusing the APC of repeatedly deploying court cases to weaken political opponents whenever the opposition gained momentum.

Warning against what it described as the dangerous manipulation of the judiciary to eliminate political competition, the ADC said: “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.”

It challenged President Bola Tinubu and the APC to submit themselves to a free and fair electoral contest if they were confident of their performance and popularity, insisting that the presidency was not an inheritance.

The party also called on the judiciary not to allow itself to be used to impose dictatorship on the country, urging its members nationwide to remain calm and law-abiding while it pursues legal remedies.