Tension flared at the Federal High Court on Thursday as registered members and stakeholders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) gathered for a peaceful protest, asking Justice Joyce Abdulmalik to step aside from cases involving the party and other opposition groups.
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The demonstrators said they came to the court to raise concerns about fairness in the handling of an ongoing ADC case. They urged judicial authorities to reassign the matter to another judge in order to protect public confidence in the courts.
The protest, organised under the banner of ADC Registered Members and Stakeholders (ADC–RM & S) ahead of a scheduled hearing in the case, took place within the court premises.
The group’s National President, Anthony Olah, and the Deputy National Secretary of the party, Oladimeji Fabian, addressed journalists during the gathering.
Some of the protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as “Judiciary Should Not Destroy Our Democracy” and “Recuse Yourself, We Have No Confidence in You,” reflecting their concerns about the ongoing legal proceedings.
“We therefore call on the Chief Justice of Nigeria to intervene urgently by: directing Justice Joyce Abdulmalik to recuse herself from ADC and opposition party cases; protecting Nigeria’s democracy from judicial manipulation. As the ADC case is coming up before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Friday, 6/3/2026, we call on the CJN, NBA President, Nigerians, the international community and all lovers of democracy across the globe to press on her to recuse herself from the ADC case,” Olah said.
The protesters appealed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and other leaders in the judiciary to step in and ensure the case involving the party is reassigned to another judge.
They also called on citizens and institutions they described as defenders of democratic values to pay attention to the situation.
Also speaking at the gathering, Fabian said the party believed the case should be handled by another judge to avoid doubts about fairness.
He also pointed to previous instances where judges stepped aside from cases after parties raised concerns about confidence in the court.
“In this country, people forget history. I can tell you that a former President of the Court of Appeal recused herself from a matter because a party said, we don’t trust you, we don’t have confidence in you.
“Justice Bulkachuwa, former President of the Court of Appeal. We’ve seen Justice Binta Nyako recuse herself when a party says, we don’t want you, we don’t have confidence in you.
“We have seen so many. Justice Omotosho was the first judge on this case. He recused himself when a party to this matter said, we don’t trust you. Then Justice Abdulmalik should tell us why she insisted on going on with this case in spite of the concern of a party.
“So we are calling on the CJN, we are calling on all lovers of democracy that this cannot continue. She should recuse herself from this case. And we are calling on Justice Tsoho, the Chief Judge, and the President of the Court of Appeal to reassign the case to a justice with moderate tendencies,” the party’s Deputy National Secretary said.
The protesters said they would continue to pursue their concerns through peaceful means. They also appealed to security agencies to maintain order around the court premises during the next sitting.
They urged leaders of the judiciary and the legal profession to consider their concerns as part of efforts to strengthen public trust in Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
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