Eshioromeh Sebastian
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Federal Government of orchestrating a covert plot to pressure Justice Nwite of the Federal High Court into recusing himself from a politically sensitive case involving one of its members, Nafiu Bala Gombe.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party described the alleged interference as a direct assault on judicial independence and a dangerous escalation in what it called the “weaponisation of state institutions against the opposition.”
According to the ADC, desperate forces within the corridors of power are mounting pressure on Justice Nwite to step aside from the matter so that the case can be reassigned to judges perceived to be more pliable and politically compliant.
The party claimed that information available to its legal team indicates a troubling sequence of events. Despite the fact that the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the relevant 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,” the statement read. The party argued that such a recusal would create an opening for the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to transfer the matter to judges allegedly considered “more amenable to political influence.”
The ADC maintained that this development runs contrary to directives issued by both 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,” the party stated.
The ADC further warned that judicial recusal “is not a toy for political convenience,” but an extraordinary measure guided by law and established principles, not by whispers from desperate political actors.
The party called on the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and the international community to intervene urgently.
It drew historic parallels to the collapse of Nigeria’s First and Second Republics and the subversion of the June 12 mandate, warning that Nigeria’s democracy is “too fragile to survive another season of judicial recklessness.”
“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,” the ADC added.
The Federal Government had yet to respond to the allegations as of press time.
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