Hundreds of youths of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, on Tuesday staged a protest in Abuja, demanding the removal of Justice Peter Odo Lifu of the Federal High Court over his judgment ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deregister the party and four others.
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The protesters, led by the ADC National Youth Leader, Hon. Balarabe Rufai, marched from the party’s national secretariat in Wuse 2 to the Federal High Court in Maitama, chanting, “Justice Lifu must go.”
They also carried placards with inscriptions such as “Judiciary is not for sale,” “Save our democracy now,” “Don’t force Nigerians into chaos,” and “No to one-party state.”
The youths insisted that the ADC must remain on the ballot ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that any attempt to exclude the party from the electoral process would undermine democracy and political participation.
“No ADC, no election,” the protesters chanted.
Justice Lifu had, on June 15, 2026, ordered INEC to deregister the ADC, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party over alleged failure to meet the constitutional threshold for continued registration as political parties.
The suit was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, which asked the court to compel INEC to remove the affected parties from its register.
The judgment has since generated controversy, especially after the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal stayed its execution and faulted the Federal High Court for proceeding with the matter despite an earlier appellate order staying further proceedings.
Speaking with journalists during the protest, Rufai alleged that the judgment was capable of pushing Nigeria towards a one-party state and called on elder statesmen to intervene.
He urged former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, Goodluck Jonathan and former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, to speak out in defence of Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.
“With the way our judiciary is going in the hands of people like Justice Lifu, Nigerians will lose hope. And when people lose hope in the judiciary, there will be hopelessness. We are Nigerian youths. This is our country, and we do not want chaos,” Rufai said.
He also called on the Attorney-General of the Federation to intervene, saying the judgment against the ADC was unacceptable to members and supporters of the party.
“We are calling on the Attorney-General of the Federation to call Justice Lifu to order and ensure he is removed. The judgment against the ADC is not honourable at all,” he said.
Rufai further disclosed that the party had petitioned the National Judicial Council, NJC, accusing Justice Lifu of continuing proceedings in the matter despite an order of the Court of Appeal staying further action.
According to him, the party considers the judge’s action a violation of judicial precedent, hierarchy of courts and due process.
“The NJC has not acted on our petition. We have come here physically because what we are experiencing now is judicial banditry, and it must stop. When a judge proceeds after a higher court has stayed proceedings, that is judicial banditry. People like that should not be in the system,” Rufai added.
The ADC maintained that the ruling poses a threat to democratic participation and warned against any attempt to remove the party from the 2027 electoral contest.
The party’s youth wing said it would sustain its protest until action is taken on its petition and until the party’s place on the ballot is guaranteed.
The protest comes amid growing debate over party deregistration, judicial powers, INEC’s role in electoral administration and the need to protect political pluralism ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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