The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the National Welfare Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nkemakolam Ukandu, to pay N100 million in damages to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, and Justice Peter Lifu following a suit that was struck out for lack of diligent prosecution.
Justice Salim Ibrahim delivered the ruling on Monday, directing Ukandu to pay N50 million each to Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu within 14 days.
The award followed an oral application made by counsel representing the two judges, Mr. J. U. K. Igwe (SAN), after the court dismissed the case.
Before issuing the order, Justice Ibrahim struck out the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1165/2026, after concluding that the plaintiff had failed to diligently pursue the matter.
Ukandu had instituted the action against the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu, accusing the judges of judicial bias and disobedience to court orders.
In the suit, he sought an order compelling the NJC to investigate allegations of corruption, abuse of judicial powers and bias allegedly committed by the two judicial officers.
However, proceedings were repeatedly stalled after both Ukandu and his legal representatives failed to appear in court on several occasions following the reassignment of the matter to Justice Ibrahim.
The judge had earlier warned on June 30 that the case could be dismissed if neither the plaintiff nor his counsel appeared at subsequent hearings.
Despite the warning, the court found that the plaintiff failed to take the necessary steps to prosecute the case, leading to its dismissal.
The legal dispute is linked to the ongoing leadership crisis within the African Democratic Congress.
The controversy stems from a substantive suit filed by an aggrieved party member, Nafiu-Bala Gombe, which is currently pending before Justice Lifu.
Gombe is seeking a court order restraining a faction of the ADC leadership led by former Senate President David Mark from presenting itself as the legitimate leadership of the party.
Ukandu, who is seeking to be joined in that matter, had accused Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu of alleged bias and claimed they were acting in the interest of certain individuals involved in the dispute.
In his originating process, Ukandu also challenged the decision of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to reassign the ADC leadership case from Justice Emeka Nwite to Justice Lifu.
According to him, the reassignment allegedly violated an earlier order issued by Justice Nwite as well as a decision of the Supreme Court.
The court, however, did not proceed to determine the substantive allegations raised in the suit, having struck it out on procedural grounds due to the plaintiff’s failure to diligently prosecute the case.
With the ruling, Ukandu has been ordered to pay the N100 million damages awarded by the court to the two judges within the stipulated 14-day period. The decision marks the latest legal development in the ongoing disputes surrounding the leadership of the African Democratic Congress.
