You Pronounced ADC Dead But Still Continue Nafiu Gombe’s Case Against Us— David Mark Slams Justice Lifu

The national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), David Mark, has criticised the handling of legal proceedings involving the party, arguing that recent judicial actions have placed Nigeria’s judiciary under public scrutiny rather than the ADC itself.

Mark made the remarks on Tuesday while addressing participants at the ADC Strategic Communications Retreat in Abuja, where he questioned the conduct of proceedings surrounding the party’s deregistration and an ongoing court case involving Nafiu Gombe.

According to the former Senate President, the controversy has shifted attention away from the ADC and toward the judiciary, particularly over the role of Justice Peter Lifu in matters affecting the party.

“The ADC is not on trial. Rather, it is the judiciary that is on trial and the nation is waiting to see how the National Judicial Council (NJC) is going to handle this precarious situation,” Mark was quoted as saying in a statement released by his special adviser on media and publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan.

He expressed concern over what he described as unprecedented judicial actions, alleging that Justice Lifu disregarded an order of the Court of Appeal directing a stay of proceedings in the matter.

Mark said it was difficult to comprehend how a judge could permit himself to be drawn into what he termed a “hatchet job,” while also allegedly proceeding with a case despite the appellate court’s directive.

The ADC chairman further questioned what he described as contradictory judicial orders, claiming that the same court had effectively declared the party non-existent through a directive to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), only to continue hearing a case involving the party less than a day later.

“It is strange that a judge can order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to pronounce a party dead and in less than 24 hours put the same party on trial,” he said.

Despite the legal challenges, Mark urged party members to remain steadfast, insisting that the ADC would overcome what he described as politically motivated obstacles.

“Like I have said previously, our members should not worry about the shenanigans of the ruling party. We will go through all these turbulence because we are up to the task. By the time we are through all these, ADC will come out stronger,” he stated.

The former Senate President also accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of attempting to distract opposition parties, claiming that the ruling party was struggling and seeking to weaken its challengers.

Addressing the party’s communication strategists, Mark challenged them to craft messages capable of attracting broader support for the ADC, including from members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said the task before the party’s media team was not only to strengthen internal cohesion but also to persuade Nigerians—and even members of the APC—to embrace the ADC’s political vision.

The comments come amid controversy following a recent Federal High Court ruling ordering the deregistration of the ADC and four other political parties, a decision that has sparked debate over the independence of the judiciary and the future of Nigeria’s democratic process.