Admin I Tuesday, June 16, 2026
ABUJA — The National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Senate President, Senator David Mark, has declared that the Nigerian judiciary, rather than his political party, is the institution currently facing a critical trial before the court of public opinion.
Mark made the assertions on Tuesday during an emergency party stakeholders’ meeting held in Abuja, the nation’s capital. The high-level meeting was called in response to the recent controversial Federal High Court judgment ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister and shut down the ADC alongside four other political parties.
Addressing party loyalists and stakeholders, the former Senate President did not mince words in criticizing the conduct of the presiding judge, Justice Peter Lifu, describing the recent judicial actions surrounding the case as completely unprecedented and dangerous for the country’s democratic stability.
”The ADC is not on trial,” Senator Mark stated emphatically. “Instead, it is the judiciary that is on trial, and the entire country is watching closely to see how the National Judicial Council (NJC) will handle this highly precarious situation.”
‘Unprecedented Judicial Contradictions’
The ADC boss expressed deep worry over what he described as a blatant disregard for judicial hierarchy and established legal procedures. He expressed shock that Justice Lifu would allegedly permit the court to be used as an instrument for the systematic destruction of a major opposition party.
According to Mark, the trial judge went ahead with the proceedings while completely ignoring a subsisting order from a superior court—the Court of Appeal—which had explicitly directed that the case be paused.
Pointing out what he labeled as major logical and legal contradictions in the court’s recent activities, the veteran politician highlighted a bizarre timeline of judicial events. He claimed that the very court which ordered INEC to deregister and shut down the ADC’s operations turned around less than 24 hours later to put the exact same political party on trial in a separate, completely different case.
”How do you order a party to be dissolved and cease to exist, and then the next day, recognize them as an active entity to face another trial?” Mark queried, arguing that such conflicting signals undermine the integrity of the temple of justice.
APC Accused of Sabotage
Despite the existential threat posed by the court order, Senator Mark urged the party’s sprawling membership across the 36 states of the federation to remain calm and resilient. He directly laid the blame for the party’s current legal woes at the doorstep of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), alleging that the government is systematically deploying state apparatuses to destabilize political opponents.
”Our members across Nigeria should not be discouraged by the tricks of the ruling party,” Mark reassured the gathering. “We will successfully navigate this difficult period because we are fully prepared for the challenges ahead. When this storm blows over, the ADC will emerge much stronger and more cohesive than before.”
Shifting his focus to the presidency, Mark accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration of actively orchestrating distractions for viable opposition networks to cover up its governance failures.
He argued that the economic realities in the country have put the federal government on the defensive, forcing it to look for political scapegoats.
In a bid to counter the narrative surrounding the de-registration saga, the ADC National Chairman handed down a stern challenge to the party’s media and communication teams. He tasked them with designing aggressive, policy-driven communication strategies capable of reshaping public perception.
According to him, the party’s messaging must be so compelling that it should ideally convince frustrated members of the ruling party—and potentially President Tinubu himself—to look toward the ADC as the alternative vehicle for national salvation.
The controversial court ruling, which mandates the sudden shutdown of five political parties, has continued to trigger widespread backlash across Nigeria’s political landscape.
Legal analysts and civil society organizations are raising urgent warnings, noting that the incident threatens the independence of Nigeria’s courts, political pluralism, and the very foundation of the nation’s fragile multi-party democracy.