Federal High Court Abuja Dismisses ADC Bid to Bar Senator Kingibe

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to prevent Senator Ireti Kingibe from participating in the activities of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Justice Peter Lifu delivered the ruling on Friday, describing the suit as frivolous and imposing a total of 20 million naira in fines against the plaintiffs and their lawyer.

The case was filed by two party members, Okezuo Godfrey Anayo and Isaiah Ojonugwa Samuel, on behalf of the ADC's Wuse Ward Executive Committee in the Federal Capital Territory. They sought a court order to bar Senator Kingibe, who represents the FCT, from presenting herself as an ADC member following her alleged suspension by ward executives on March 10. The plaintiffs accused the senator of anti-party activities, gross misconduct, and confiscating statutory ward records, alleging the suspension was ratified by a two-thirds majority of the executive committee.

In his judgment, Justice Lifu ruled that matters of party discipline and suspension are internal affairs of a political party and do not require judicial intervention. He questioned why the officials who imposed the suspension had approached the court to validate their own...