The faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by former Senate President David Mark has accused former deputy national chairman of the party, Nafiu Bala, of attempting to manipulate the judiciary over the ongoing leadership dispute within the party.
The allegation followed the indefinite adjournment of a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Bala had approached the court to challenge the leadership of the party under Mark.
During Friday’s proceedings, Bala’s lawyer, Luka Haruna, informed the court about a Supreme Court judgment delivered on April 30. He said the apex court dismissed an appeal connected to the matter and also vacated an earlier order of the Court of Appeal that halted proceedings in the substantive case.
Haruna also told the court that the plaintiff had written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court on May 4, 2026, requesting that the matter be reassigned to another judge.
According to him, the letter had already been forwarded to the court registrar. He urged the presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, to wait for the administrative decision of the chief judge.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite said the court could not act on the request without hearing from all parties involved in the suit.
The judge further held that since the request was addressed to the chief judge, the trial court could not make any pronouncement on it. He subsequently adjourned the matter indefinitely.
Reacting to the development, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, accused some unnamed government officials of attempting to influence the judicial process.
He said the court proceedings had strengthened the party’s suspicion that certain agents of government were working to alter the handling of the case.
According to Abdullahi, the latest development confirmed “beyond all reasonable doubt” that there were efforts allegedly coordinated by a federal minister to interfere in the matter.
He said the issue had moved beyond legal arguments and now reflected what he described as desperation by Bala and those backing him.
“With this development, it is now obvious that Nafiu Bala Gombe and his handlers are trying to turn the judiciary into a shopping mall where you pick and choose judges suitable for your political schemes,” he said.
Abdullahi maintained that litigants do not have the right to select judges for their cases, adding that such actions could damage public confidence in the judiciary.
He also criticised alleged attempts to slow down proceedings despite earlier directives by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court for accelerated hearing of the matter.
According to him, the actions of “Bala, and his handlers raised serious questions about efforts to delay the case until they find a judge willing to do their bidding”.
He added that such alleged interference had continued to cast doubts on the integrity of the judiciary.
Abdullahi said the ADC remained committed to the rule of law, but warned against what he described as judicial intimidation and forum shopping.
He also stressed the need for judicial independence and urged that judges be allowed to carry out their duties without political pressure or coordinated attempts to influence court proceedings.
