The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on the federal government to hands off judicial matters and immediately cease attempts to interfere in the ongoing case between its leadership and Nafiu Bala Gombe.

ADC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi in a statement said the party 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 plot, the party said, if allowed to stand, 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.

ADC said, “Information available to our 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.”

The statement said the 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.

ADC therefore said 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.

ADC 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. (Daily Trust)

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