The Federal High Court in Abuja has warned that it may dismiss a lawsuit filed against the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, and Justice Peter Lifu over allegations of bias and failure to comply with court orders if the plaintiff fails to appear at the next hearing.
Justice Salim Ibrahim issued the warning after the plaintiff, Nkemakolam Ukandu, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and his legal representative were absent when the case came up for mention.
The judge stated that the matter could be struck out for lack of diligent prosecution if there was still no appearance by the plaintiff at the next adjourned date.
Ukandu, who serves as the National Welfare Secretary of the ADC, filed the suit against the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu, accusing the judicial officers of corruption, abuse of judicial authority and bias. He is seeking a court order directing the NJC to investigate the allegations.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, only counsel representing Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu appeared in court, while neither the plaintiff nor the NJC was represented.
Counsel to the two judges asked the court to strike out the case, noting that the plaintiff and his lawyer were also absent during the previous hearing on June 22, suggesting a lack of interest in pursuing the suit.
Justice Ibrahim, however, declined the request, saying the plaintiff should be given another opportunity in the interest of fair hearing.
The defence also informed the court that efforts to serve legal documents on the plaintiff had been unsuccessful because the address provided by his lawyer could not be located. A motion seeking permission for substituted service was subsequently filed.
The court granted the application in part, ordering that the court documents be pasted at the entrance of the address provided by the plaintiff’s counsel. It also directed that hearing notices be served on all parties before adjourning the case to July 6 for hearing.
The lawsuit stems from the ongoing leadership dispute within the ADC, involving a separate case filed by party member Nafiu-Bala Gombe, who is challenging the legitimacy of the party leadership headed by Senator David Mark.
Ukandu, who is seeking to join that case, has accused Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu of showing bias in the handling of the leadership dispute. He also questioned the decision to reassign the matter to Justice Lifu after it was withdrawn from Justice Emeka Nwite, claiming the move violated previous court directives.
