Court Strikes Out ADC Official’s Suit Against Judges

The High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit filed by the National Welfare Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nkemakolam Ukandu, against the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, and Justice Peter Lifu over allegations of judicial bias.

Justice Salim Ibrahim dismissed the case on Monday for lack of diligent prosecution after neither Ukandu nor his legal counsel appeared in court despite being served with hearing notices.

The court also ordered Ukandu to pay a total of ₦100 million in costs, awarding ₦50 million each to Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu within 14 days.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Ibrahim said the suit was struck out under the provisions of Order 19(1) of the Federal High Court Rules, 2019, due to the plaintiff’s failure to prosecute the matter.

Ukandu had sued the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu, seeking an order compelling the NJC to investigate allegations of corruption, abuse of judicial powers and judicial bias against the two judges.

The suit is linked to the leadership crisis within the ADC and stems from a separate case filed by party member Nafiu-Bala Gombe challenging the David Mark-led interim leadership of the party.

At Monday’s proceedings, only counsel representing Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu, J.U.K. Igwe (SAN), was present in court.

Igwe informed the court that all parties had been duly served with hearing notices, including through substituted service at the address provided by Ukandu, while the NJC was also served in line with the court’s directive.

He urged the court to strike out the suit and award costs, arguing that the plaintiff had deliberately abandoned the case.

According to the senior advocate, Order 19(1) of the Federal High Court Rules empowered the court to strike out the matter due to the plaintiff’s absence, while Order 25(1)(d) entitled his clients to costs.

Igwe further alleged that Ukandu changed his address during the proceedings to evade service and criticised the plaintiff for filing the case, publicising it in the media and subsequently failing to pursue it.

He also argued that judicial officers, as public officials, could not publicly defend themselves against allegations made in such circumstances.

The court had earlier warned at its previous sitting on June 30 that the suit could be struck out if the plaintiff again failed to appear. However, the matter was adjourned at the time to allow fresh hearing notices to be served in the interest of fair hearing.

Ukandu is also seeking to be joined in the separate suit filed by Gombe challenging the ADC leadership. He had alleged that Justice Tsoho improperly reassigned the case from Justice Emeka Nwite to Justice Lifu in violation of Supreme Court orders, an allegation forming part of the claims in the now-dismissed suit.