Finally, ADC Gets CTC of Lifu’s Judgement - THISDAYLIVE

After days of waiting, African Democratic Congress (ADC) finally obtained the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Justice Peter Lifu judgement, which sacked the party’s leadership, on Wednesday, with its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, directing his legal team to study the ruling and take necessary legal action.

That was as all the candidates vying for offices on the platform of ADC in the 2027 general election adopted a diplomatic pressure in the appeal of the judgement against them by the Federal High Court judge. This followed Lifu’s initial refusal to release the CTC.

Meanwhile, Atiku decried the sealing off of his planned Thursday presidential campaign venue, Arewa House, in Kaduna, saying he would not be intimidated.

A statement by ADC’s Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, confirmed release of the Lifu judgement’s CTC.

It said, ‘’Justice Peter Lifu has finally released the duly authenticated copy of his judgement, on the final day of the seven-day period prescribed by the constitution.

“Releasing a consequential judgement on the last permitted day leaves the African Democratic Congress with precious little time to study it and prepare its next legal steps in line with Section 294(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

According to the opposition party, the constitution provides, “Every court established under this constitution shall deliver its decision in writing not later than ninety days after the conclusion of evidence and final addresses and furnish all parties to the cause or matter determined with duly authenticated copies of the decision within seven days of the delivery thereof.

‘’The ADC will study the judgment and pursue every lawful remedy available. But the timing of the release raises serious concern, especially as our party continues to face actions that obstruct its campaign and political consultations.”

Decrying the sealing off of the venue of Atiku’s planned rally today in Kaduna, ADC said, ‘’In Kaduna, the APC-led government has sealed the historic Arewa House, the proposed venue for our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar’s consultation with northern stakeholders on Thursday.

‘’Arewa House is part of the shared heritage of the diverse peoples of northern Nigeria. Sealing it to prevent a political consultation is an affront to their culture and dignity.”

The statement quoted Atiku as saying, “My campaign team had proposed the Arewa House as the venue for our consultation with stakeholders on Thursday and, today, the APC government decided to seal the building.

‘’This is a troubling pattern. During our campaign flag-off in Sokoto, the APC government also tried to frustrate us. The people stood firm, and their will prevailed.”

ADC stated, “Now, as Atiku prepares to consult stakeholders at Arewa House, the venue has been sealed.

‘’We hold President Bola Tinubu and the APC politically responsible for this pattern of obstruction. An outgoing president and a ruling party should respect democratic competition, not use public authority to impede the opposition, restrict political consultation, or weaken Nigerians’ right to choose.

‘’We will not be intimidated. We thank Nigerians across the country for their massive support, solidarity and encouragement. Your resolve strengthens ours. The ADC will continue its consultations, pursue its legal rights, and take its message of a new direction to the people.’

All the candidates vying for offices on the platform of ADC in the 2027 general election adopted diplomatic pressure in the appeal of the judgement against them by Lifu. This followed Lifu’s refusal to release the CTC of his judgement that sacked the David Mark leadership of ADC.

All the candidates, yesterday, submitted petitions to the United Nations, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Chief Judge of Federal High Court, Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), President of Court of Appeal, and Nigeria Bar Association (NBA).

They also submitted petitions to ECOWAS Commission, United States, European Union, and United Kingdom High commission, asking that they should intervene for a quicker release of the CTC to enable a right of appeal against the Lifu judgement.

At the United Nations, leader of the group, Aliyu Audu, said to a representative, ‘’We’re here to submit a letter to the United Nations, drawing your attention and appealing that you use all possible diplomatic options to get the government to obey the law, let democracy thrive. I mean, there is no democracy if there is no competition.

‘’If you take the option of the court away from the people, it’s just going to end up being coronation and not democracy. The country is already fragile enough. The 27 years of democracy untruncated, that we’ve celebrated in Nigeria, that is still the hope of democracy in Africa.

‘’We are the most populous democracy in Africa as it is and the actions of the president and the government of the day through abuse of the judicial process and the various institutions does not in any way show that they are interested in upholding this democracy.

“And we are not going to let them get away with it. So, we are going to exhaust every available legal means of seeking redress. But the bottom line is they won’t get away with it. Whatever way they want it; we are very prepared for it.”

Audu added, “This is our nation. We’re not leaving this country for anybody and democracy has come to stay. He who has benefited, who supposedly is a democrat, who claimed to have fought for democracy, should not be the very person destroying democracy in Nigeria.

‘’There are actions of his over the years that have shown clearly that he does not have the interest of upholding the democratic principle in Nigeria. We are going to hold him accountable and we just want the United Nations to bear us witness in every step we take. So we brought the letter here addressed to you.’’

Audu then gave the United Nations official a copy of the petition submitted to the diplomatic bodies so far visited.

He stated, ‘’This is an acknowledgement copy. This is a petition we submitted to the High Court, just to put you on notice.”

The document was received, with an acknowledgement copy issued, by Suzanne Su, Head of the Resident Coordinating Office, accompanied by Ronald Kayanja, Head of the UN Information Centre, and Mahmoud Sinasi, Deputy Head of Security.

But, there was no response from the UN representative.

A copy of the petition given to news men read, ‘’We write on behalf of the Forum of ADC Candidates in Nigeria, a body of candidates nominated by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election.

‘’We do not write to ask any friendly government or institution to take sides in a domestic legal dispute. We write to ask for something every democracy holds dear: that every citizen’s day in court, including the right of appeal, is honoured in full, and that no candidate is removed from the ballot before the law has run its course.

‘’The matter: On 5th November, 2026, the Federal High Court, Abuja, per Hon. Justice Peter O. Lifu, delivered judgement in the above suit. The judgement voided the emergence of Senator David Mark as National Chairman of the ADC and voided all actions taken by him, including the nomination of all ADC candidates for the 2027 general elections.

“If given effect while still open to challenge, it would remove the candidates of a major opposition party, including, as widely reported, its presidential candidate, from the ballot.

‘’Our position. We respect the courts and we disagree with this judgment. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), guarantees a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal, and requires that the decisions of courts be delivered in writing and made available to the parties.

“We are pursuing every lawful avenue, and we will abide by the final decision of the highest court of competent jurisdiction once our right of appeal is exhausted. Our concern. A right of appeal is only as real as the ability to exercise it.

“Immediately after judgement on 5th November, 2026, our counsel formally applied for the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment and paid the prescribed fees. As at the date of this letter, five (5) days later, the CTC has not been released to us, and our lawyers’ daily visits to the Registry have produced no lawful explanation.

“We have petitioned the Honourable the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court (copy enclosed). We have also received information that political pressure is being brought on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to implement the same judgement immediately. We make no accusation against any person or institution here.

“We simply observe that a party cannot be asked to accept the consequences of a judgment while being denied the document it needs to challenge it. Why this matters beyond the ADC. Democracy is not sustained by elections alone.

“It is sustained by the confidence of citizens that the rules apply equally to all, that the courts are open to all, and that the contest is decided by voters. When citizens come to believe that an election can be settled in a registry or a courtroom before a single ballot is cast, faith in democracy and in the institutions of government erodes: apathy grows, grievance deepens, and stability is put at risk.

“Nigeria is Africa’s most populous democracy and a cornerstone of ECOWAS, at a time when democratic norms are under strain across our region. Nigeria is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects the right to a fair hearing and the right to take part in public affairs, to vote and to be elected.

“It has also subscribed to the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and to the democratic norms of the African Union. Your Governments and institutions have long stood with the Nigerian people in upholding these principles, and we respectfully invite your continued engagement.

‘’Our requests. Within the bounds of your mandates and normal diplomatic practice, we respectfully urge you to: (a) emphasise to the Government of Nigeria and the relevant institutions the importance of due process, including the immediate release of the CTC and the full exercise of the right of appeal to final determination.

‘’(d) call for restraint by security agencies and respect for the right of peaceful assembly. Our Support Group will gather peacefully at the Federal High Court premises, Abuja, on 11th November, 2026 by 10:00am to receive the CTC, and we invite your offices to follow developments and, where feasible, to be represented; and (e) keep the pre-election period, including the current litigation phase, under close diplomatic and observation attention through your existing channels.

‘’We are committed to peace, to the rule of law and to the Nigerian people’s right to choose their leaders freely. We remain available to brief your offices, provide documents, and meet at your convenience.”

Former Chairman of ADC, Ralph Nwosu, accused INEC and the judiciary of being the brains behind the recent sack of the party’s leadership by Lifu.

Nwosu, who spoke yesterday on the Morning Show of ARISE News Channels, said the court judgement given by Lifu remained inconsequential because another court of equal jurisdiction had earlier given a judgement declaring the election that brought in Mark as the current party chairman, and Atiku as the party flag-bearer, as valid and acceptable.

Nwosu said, “Therefore, every process that David Mark has conducted or will conduct in the future are legal and binding. A court of the same standard cannot rule otherwise. And if they do, the first one will prevail.”

He explained that given the earlier court judgement and other legal evidences that the party had, the party would shame both INEC and the judiciary at any level where the case might be taken to for further interpretation.

Nwosu stated, “Ordinarily, we would not think of appealing the case, because another court of equal jurisdiction has passed judgement in favour of ADC, but the ADC Chairman, David Mark, is an upright and credible man, and he is a very disciplined person, showing discipline in the party and in all he’s done. That’s why we are going to appeal the case.

“I know that in the courts, we have very good quality lawyers. But for somebody like Justice Peter Lifu to disqualify ADC, and ruled in his court that ADC was deregistered when there was no basis for that, even more so when the appeal court had said, stay action, let’s look at the matter.”

He said, “Justice Peter Lifu did what he did because he knew ADC has scored victory in the field. People were beginning to rejoice with the ADC, when suddenly Justice Peter Lifu decided to go against people’s happiness through his judgement, which we see as a rascality of a very corrupt political culture.

“In this case, everything we did, nobody can find any fault in it. It wasn’t a transaction, we did it for patriotic reason. So, what is happening to ADC, I must accuse APC government of being liable.”

Nwosu added, “We want to open a gallery to shame the INEC, to shame the judiciary, and that will begin very soon.”

Senator Dino Melaye said ADC had received the CTC of the court judgement against the party and the name of Atiku was not mentioned.

Melaye stated that in a post on his official Facebook page.

He wrote. “We have just received the Certified True Copy of the Justice Lifu’s judgement. Nowhere in the judgement is Atiku Abubakar’s name or any other candidate’s name mentioned. All the propaganda and lies of APC have expired. Atiku Abubakar is coming.”

African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has condemned the growing spectacle of APC officials distributing cash, gifts and food at campaign events in what appears to be an attempt to whip up support for Tinubu.

In a statement by Director, Strategic  Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the council said, ‘’At a time when millions of Nigerians are struggling to afford food, transport and basic necessities, flaunting wads of cash at political gatherings is an insult to their hardship.

“It exposes a ruling party that has lost the confidence of the people and is now relying on inducements to create the appearance of enthusiasm.”

Shaibu said, “The pattern is becoming impossible to ignore. From reports of luxury vehicles presented to APC women leaders, to cash and cooked food distributed by the President’s son through the City Boy Movement, and now videos circulating of an APC women leader handing out money and fabrics, the ruling party appears to be treating political support as something that can be bought.

“The same authorities that have pursued ordinary Nigerians over alleged abuse of the Naira must explain why apparent cash distribution by political operatives at campaign events should be treated differently. The EFCC and INEC must investigate these incidents and take appropriate action wherever electoral or currency laws have been breached.”

The statement said, “After three and a half years of economic hardship, rising insecurity and mounting public debt, the APC has little to show Nigerians. Its answer is to display cash and gifts at political events, as though a brief handout can erase the daily struggle families face or buy their votes.

“The Tinubu administration has pushed millions deeper into poverty, while Nigerians continue to demand answers about the scale, terms and use of government borrowing. Cash, gifts and staged displays cannot conceal a record of failure.

“No amount of money can compel Nigerians to endorse a government that has made life harder for them. The people’s votes are not for sale, and no manufactured crowd can substitute for their verdict at the ballot box.”

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