*Atiku: Ruling exposes Tinubu’s desperation to impose one-party system
*ADC alleges coordinated attempt to weaken opposition parties
*Falana warns against threat to multi-party democracy, says judge cannot reverse own judgment
Chuks Okocha, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja, and Wale Igbintade in Lagos
The decision of the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, to set aside its earlier judgment recognising the Nigeria Democratic Coalition (NDC), yesterday continued to receive widespread condemnation.
The presiding judge, Justice Isah Dashen, on Friday set aside the earlier judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party.
Reacting, the electoral umpire yesterday said it was awaiting the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the court’s ruling.
But a former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, and his party, as well as human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, have condemned Friday’s court ruling directing INEC to deregister NDC.
On his part, Atedo Peterside, an investment banker and economist, has declared that judicial rascality can be stopped not just by relying on Appeal Courts to overturn “obnoxious judgements” but also through disciplinary actions.
A top INEC official, who preferred anonymity, told THISDAY yesterday that the commission would respond accordingly upon receiving the CTC.
“We have not received the CTC of the judgment delivered on Friday, June 26, 2026, by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, which set aside an earlier order concerning the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
“Whenever we receive the CTC, we will react accordingly,” the official said.
Atiku: Ruling Exposes Tinubu’s Desperation to Impose One-party System
Condemning the court ruling, Atiku described the attempt to deregister the NDC through judicial means as evidence of President Bola Tinubu’s desperate determination to impose a de facto one-party system in Nigeria, against the democratic wishes and aspirations of Nigerians.
Atiku said there was a sinister plot to weaken opposition parties to help Tinubu have his way in the 2027 election.
According to Atiku, the participation of citizens in a free, fair, and credible poll is the soul of democracy, and any attempt to stifle such freedom of choice could trigger chaos and anarchy.
“Nigerians are now seeing the true colours of President Tinubu, who pretends to be a democrat, but his body language and the sinister activities of his agents contradict his mouthed commitment to free and fair elections.”
He urged Tinubu to take a leaf from the late President Muhammadu Buhari, who, despite being a retired military officer-turned-politician, never deregistered any opposition party.
Atiku also added that former President Goodluck Jonathan lived by a non-violent mantra that political ambition should not be worth the blood of any citizen.
“If you’re truly popular and your policies have positively bettered the lives of the citizens, you shouldn’t be afraid of a free and fair competition,” Atiku reminded Tinubu.
“Tinubu cannot be a champion of democracy under military dictatorship and now become the worst enemy of everything that democracy stands for.”
“You can’t attempt to rule the people against their will and still pretend that you’re committed to free and fair elections in 2027,” Atiku stated.
The former vice president also advised judges “to resist being used by dishonorable politicians who are bent on destroying the hard-earned democracy in the country.”
Atiku argued that the unchecked excesses of some judges, who allowed themselves to become judicial swords in the hands of politicians, should be checked.
ADC Alleges Coordinated Attempt to Weaken Opposition Parties
On its part, the ADC alleged a coordinated attempt to weaken opposition parties ahead of the forthcoming general election, warning that Nigeria risks sliding into a one-party state if what it described as the “growing assault on democracy” is not checked.
In a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party expressed concern over what it called a succession of legal and administrative actions targeting opposition parties, insisting that the trend poses a grave threat to constitutional democracy.
“The cumulative effect of these attacks is unmistakable: They weaken the opposition, narrow the democratic space, and strengthen the hands of those already in power. This is not how a healthy democracy functions,” the statement read in part.
According to the ADC, the controversy surrounding the NDC goes beyond the fortunes of a single political party and strikes at the heart of Nigeria’s democratic system.
“When opposition parties are persistently distracted by manufactured controversies and prolonged legal uncertainty, the real casualty is the Nigerian people’s right to choose among credible political alternatives freely,” the party said.
Falana Warns against Threat to Multi-party Democracy, Says Judge Cannot Reverse Own Judgment.
Also reacting, Falana faulted the court’s ruling, insisting that a judge lacks the power to overturn his or her own final decision.
Falana maintained that once a court has delivered a judgment or made a final order, the judge becomes functus officio. This legal doctrine bars a court from revisiting or reversing its own final determination except in limited circumstances provided by law.
According to him, any party dissatisfied with such a judgment ought to challenge it before a higher court rather than asking the same judge to reverse his own decision.
The senior lawyer also argued that all actions taken pursuant to the earlier judgment remain legally valid and cannot be invalidated retrospectively by the same court.
He specifically maintained that the primary elections conducted by the NDC under the authority of the earlier judgment cannot, in law, be set aside through the subsequent ruling.
“All the actions taken pursuant to the earlier order of the judge are deemed proper in law. The court cannot retrospectively set aside the primary elections of the NDC,” he added.
Falana also expressed concern about what he described as a disturbing trend within the Federal High Court, alleging that certain judicial decisions threaten Nigeria’s multi-party democratic system.
He alleged that some judges of the Federal High Court were taking actions that could reduce Nigeria to a one-party state by facilitating the deregistration of opposition political parties. At the same time, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) remained unaffected.
Peterside Recommends Sanctions against Judicial Rascality
Meanwhile, investment banker and economist Peterside has said that judicial rascality can be stopped not just by relying on appeal courts to overturn “obnoxious judgements” but also through disciplinary action.
The banker’s statement was in response to Senator Sola Akinyede’s X post about the Federal High Court’s ruling on the NDC’s deregistration.
“Sad. Judicial systems are not sustained by the corrective powers of their appellate system, but by judicial decency & integrity. Until the CJN enforces these qualities, the Nigerian Judiciary will continue on its journey of self-destruction, igniting the truncation of our democracy,” Akinyede, a former Ekiti South lawmaker, had written.
In his reaction, Peterside, founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, applauded Akinyede, saying, “Well said @SolaA63524. The cure for Judicial Rascality is disciplinary action. Glossing over rascality whilst relying on Appeal Courts alone to overturn obnoxious judgements encourages more judges to go into the lucrative business of delivering procurable obnoxious judgements.”
