By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Nigerian Voters Organisation (NVO) has challenged the judgment of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which reportedly nullified the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the party's candidates for the 2027 general election, alleging that the judge granted reliefs that were never sought by the plaintiff.

In a statement dated November 5, 2026, the organisation's president, Barrister Dr Jezie Ekejiuba, urged the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate the judge, arguing that the ruling violated established judicial precedents and the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers.

The NVO maintained that the suit instituted by Nafiu Gombe principally concerned the ADC leadership dispute and related injunctive reliefs, insisting that the reported nullification of the party's nominated candidates went beyond the claims presented before the court.

“The elementary and trite position of the law is that Courts of law are not Father Christmas. The appellate courts had in a plethora of cases held that courts has no power or jurisdiction to grant reliefs not sought in the Plaintiff's claim before the court. Justice Lifu is also very conversant with this apex court judicial precedent or Stare Decisis,” the statement said.

The organisation also relied on Section 83(5) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which it quoted as providing that, subject to subsection (3), “no Court in Nigeria shall entertain jurisdiction over any suit or matter pertaining to the internal affairs of a political party.”

It argued that several Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions had similarly established that courts lacked jurisdiction to entertain internal leadership disputes within political parties.

“The NVO which is committed to promoting the Voters Rights in Nigera under the Nigerian Constitution, views this judgment which is a violation of the apex Court's laid down principle of Stare Decisis, an age long principle of law which mandates the lower courts to follow and obey the judicial precedents of the higher courts in Nigeria,” Ekejiuba stated.

The group warned that the judgment could disenfranchise millions of Nigerians intending to vote for ADC candidates in the 2027 presidential, governorship and legislative elections, describing the development as a threat to democratic participation and political stability.

It further alleged that the candidates whose nominations were reportedly nullified had been duly nominated and that their nominations had previously been affirmed by another Federal High Court judgment.

However, the NVO acknowledged that it had not obtained the Certified True Copy of Justice Lifu's judgment, explaining that its position on the reported nullification of the candidates was based on accounts circulating in the traditional and social media.

“Even though the NVO has not yet been privileged to have the soft or hard copy of the Certified True Copy (C.T.C) of the questioned judgment, but the judgment news trending online in the social media and the orthodox media news channels reported that Justice Lifu also notoriously nullified the candidacy of the ADC duly nominated candidates,” the statement said.

The organisation questioned why the judge should disregard the judicial precedents it cited, alleging that his conduct amounted to a breach of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers.

“There is no way that the Justice Lifu's impugned judgment can pass the legal test at the appellate court. Justice Lifu is very conversant with this Stare Decisis principle of law but he chose to close his eyes to the obvious,” it added.

The NVO called on the NJC to examine the circumstances surrounding the judgment and take appropriate action, arguing that judicial accountability was necessary to protect public confidence in the judiciary.

It also appealed to the council to intervene in what it described as a threat to Nigeria's democratic gains.