ADC judgment threatens all opposition parties — Coalition

The Coalition for Democracy has warned that the Federal High Court judgment nullifying the leadership of the African Democratic Congress and its presidential candidacy poses a threat to all opposition parties.

It called for a united front against what it described as attempts to undermine political pluralism ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The coalition said the judgment was a dangerous escalation in what it described as a systematic campaign to eliminate credible opposition in the country.

In a statement issued on Friday, the group, through its spokesperson, Salihu Lukman, said the development had reinforced concerns about the shrinking democratic space, warning that what had happened to the ADC could happen to other opposition parties.

It urged opposition parties, civil society organisations, the Nigerian Bar Association, organised labour, the media and other patriotic Nigerians to unite in peaceful and lawful resistance against attempts to undermine political competition.

“The Coalition for Democracy considered Thursday’s Federal High Court judgment purporting to dissolve the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress and invalidate its presidential candidacy as a dangerous escalation in what appears to be a systematic campaign to eliminate credible political opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections,” Lukman said.

He recalled that the coalition had previously raised concerns over attacks on opposition supporters, obstruction of political activities and the alleged use of state institutions against political opponents.

According to him, Thursday’s judgment had given those concerns a new and disturbing urgency.

“When opposition parties are attacked on the streets, frustrated by state institutions, and threatened with elimination through judicial pronouncements, Nigerians must ask whether the ruling party still intends to face any meaningful opposition at the ballot box,” he said.

While acknowledging the independence of the judiciary and the right of aggrieved parties to seek legal redress, Lukman cautioned against any situation in which the courts could be perceived as instruments for extinguishing political competition.

According to him, those seeking to weaken opposition parties to guarantee electoral victory were threatening not just the affected political organisations but also the foundations of the Nigerian Republic.

“A government that cannot tolerate opposition has lost the moral authority to call itself democratic,” he declared.

Lukman further warned that the increasing restriction of democratic space could have serious implications for national stability, arguing that no democracy could sustain peace where citizens were denied meaningful political alternatives.

He insisted that electoral contests must remain the legitimate means of determining political leadership, rather than what he described as institutional manipulation.

“The ballot must remain the battlefield of democracy. No political party should be allowed to achieve through institutional manipulation what it fears it cannot achieve through the votes of Nigerians,” he said.

The coalition also expressed solidarity with the ADC over its decision to challenge the judgment through the appropriate judicial channels.

It maintained that the defence of political pluralism should not be left to the affected party alone, urging other political parties and democratic institutions to speak out against developments capable of weakening the country’s multiparty system.

“Let it be known: the Coalition for Democracy will not stand by while Nigeria is reduced to a democracy without opposition, elections without alternatives, and ballots without genuine choices,” Lukman said.

He added, “An attack on one is an attack on all. We will resist it together.”

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday delivered a judgment against the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the ADC in a suit instituted by a rival faction led by Nafiu Bala Gombe.

The ruling also affected the party’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, including the joint presidential ticket of Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi.

The ADC leadership and the former Vice-President have rejected the judgment and indicated their intention to challenge it at the Court of Appeal.

The Coalition for Democracy emerged from the G-100 Opposition Summit held in Abuja on August 31, 2026. It comprises nine political parties, including the ADC, Allied Peoples Movement, Democratic Leadership Alliance, National Rescue Movement, Nigeria Democratic Congress, a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, Peoples Redemption Party, Social Democratic Party and Youth Progressives Party.

The coalition was established to coordinate opposition parties around the defence of constitutional democracy, political pluralism, the rule of law and credible elections.