Osunbor accuses Justice Peter Lifu of disregarding Court of Appeal order as appellate court restores ADC and four other political parties.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has confirmed that it has petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC) against Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, over his handling of the suit that ordered the deregistration of the party and four others.
ADC National Legal Adviser and former Edo State Governor, Professor Oserheimen Osunbor, disclosed this on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, describing the judge’s conduct as a grave violation of judicial hierarchy and the rule of law.
“We had actually petitioned Justice Lifu to the NJC. We already have a petition against him, and we are pursuing it. This is even an additional reason for us to pursue it because it is incumbent on all of us to ensure that we have a sanitised judiciary in Nigeria,” Osunbor said.
He accused the judge of deliberately disregarding an order of the Court of Appeal directing him to stay proceedings in the matter.
“How flagrant can a violation be more than what Lifu did? To say to the Court of Appeal, ‘Yes, I am aware; I have seen; I have received and acknowledged your stay of proceedings, but I will not obey it because you do not have any power to arrest my judgement.’ That is disturbing,” he said.
Osunbor maintained that the rule of law thrives on obedience to court orders, stressing that lower courts are bound by decisions of superior courts.
He expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would uphold the principle of obedience to valid court orders should the matter proceed further in the judicial process.
The ADC chieftain also criticised recent attempts to deregister opposition political parties, noting that many Nigerians initially suspected that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was acting in concert with those seeking to weaken opposition parties.
His comments came a day after the Court of Appeal in Abuja nullified the Federal High Court judgment directing INEC to deregister the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Tuesday, a three-member panel of the appellate court held that the June 15 decision of the Federal High Court was a nullity because it was founded on an incompetent suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which lacked the legal capacity to institute the action.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Abba Mohammed ruled that the trial court wrongly assumed jurisdiction and ignored evidence showing that the affected political parties had won elective positions in previous elections.
The appellate court also faulted Justice Lifu for proceeding with the case despite an earlier order directing him to stay proceedings pending the determination of an appeal, describing his conduct as “judicial impertinence.”
It noted that the Supreme Court had previously held that a judge who disregards the order of a superior court could be considered unfit for the bench, describing such conduct as “judicial rascality.”
The Court of Appeal consequently set aside the deregistration order, restored the legal status of the five political parties and awarded costs against the National Forum of Former Legislators.
Justice Lifu had earlier ruled that the parties failed to satisfy the constitutional requirements for continued registration under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), citing their alleged poor electoral performance in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections.
However, the appellate court held that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit and affirmed that all five political parties remain duly registered.