“I Don’t Trust This Judge”: Aregbesola Petitions for Recusal on Eve of High-Stakes ADC Leadership Battle.

In a dramatic last minute twist ahead of a crucial court hearing, the national secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has formally asked a Federal High Court judge in Abuja to step aside from the party’s deepening leadership crisis.

The legal fireworks began when Aregbesola, through his lawyer, Mohammed Sheriff, filed an urgent motion on Tuesday, June 2, requesting that Justice Peter Lifu recuse himself from the case. The motion, dated June 1, argues that the judge cannot be impartial, citing a “reasonable apprehension of bias” and a complete loss of confidence in his ability to dispense justice fairly.

The case at the centre of the storm was originally filed by a disgruntled former National Deputy Chairman of the ADC, Mr. Nafiu-Bala Gombe. Gombe is seeking a court order to stop Senate President David Mark and his factional leadership including Aregbesola himself from parading as the legitimate leaders of the party. Gombe insists that Mark’s emergence as chairman breached both the ADC’s constitution and the Electoral Act.

The suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025) had initially been assigned to Justice Emeka Nwite. However, Nwite was recently named among 12 new justices recommended to President Bola Tinubu for elevation to the Court of Appeal. As a result, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, swiftly reassigned the volatile case to Justice Lifu, who had immediately fixed Wednesday for hearing.

But barely 24 hours before that hearing, Aregbesola struck back.

In a detailed seven ground argument, Aregbesola’s legal team painted a picture of a judge who, they claim, has already shown his cards in a previous, unrelated suit involving the ADC.

They specifically referenced a separate case (suit number: ABJ/CS/2637/2026) where Justice Lifu, they argued, delivered “rulings against established principles of law” and acted with “complete indignation” toward the ADC. According to the motion, the judge ordered an accelerated hearing even though the matter was not urgent, refused two separate motions to pause proceedings, and forged ahead toward judgment despite being told that an appeal had already been filed at a higher court.

“The applicant has no confidence in this court to administer justice in these proceedings,” the motion reads bluntly. “A fair minded observer would reasonably apprehend a lack of confidence.”

The drama escalated further when Aregbesola’s lawyers reminded the court that on May 22, the Court of Appeal had itself intervened. After hearing how Justice Lifu refused to stay proceedings, the appellate court described as being “in complete indignation and irritation” granted an order halting all further action in the previous case.

For Aregbesola, that was the final straw. “It is in the interest of justice that this matter be heard by another judge,” his motion concludes.

Meanwhile, the ADC is already deeply fractured. In a stunning development just days ago, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged as the party’s presidential candidate for 2027 after defeating former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi at one faction’s national convention. In a parallel universe, another faction of the ADC has adopted Dumebi Kachikwu as its own presidential candidate.

As Justice Lifu prepares to enter his courtroom on Wednesday morning, all eyes will be on whether he grants Aregbesola’s request to withdraw or decides to hear the case anyway, setting the stage for an explosive legal showdown.