A former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, has accused the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, of manipulating the assignment of politically sensitive cases to favour particular interests.
Odinkalu alleged that Tsoho had a list of judges he trusted to handle politically sensitive cases in ways that served certain political interests, citing Justice Peter Lifu as a prominent example.
The human rights lawyer made the allegations in a post on Friday, questioning why cases involving the African Democratic Congress (ADC) repeatedly ended up before Justice Lifu despite previous criticisms of his conduct by the Court of Appeal.
He described Tsoho as the person behind what he called the transactional administration of justice at the Federal High Court.
Odinkalu admitted that the Chief Judge wields considerable influence over the judicial process through his powers to post and transfer judges and assign cases to them.
He explained that, unlike jurisdictions where cases are assigned through automated systems, Nigeria’s judicial system allows the Chief Judge or the administrative judge of a judicial division to determine which judge handles a case.
Odinkalu argued that the process could influence the outcome of politically sensitive cases, alleging that Tsoho had used his position to direct such matters to judges whose decisions allegedly favoured particular political interests.
He specifically accused Justice Lifu of repeatedly making controversial decisions involving the ADC.
Listing eight decisions and actions he attributed to the judge, Odinkalu cited the declaration of the Senator David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the ADC as illegal, the nullification of Mark’s emergence as national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola’s emergence as national secretary.
He also accused Lifu of invalidating decisions taken by the disputed leadership, including the presidential primary that produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s candidate for the 2027 general election.
Other issues raised included the invalidation of the nominations of other ADC candidates, the directive restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising decisions taken at the party’s July 27, 2025 National Executive Committee meeting, and his alleged disregard for a Court of Appeal order directing him to stay proceedings.
Odinkalu further accused the judge of sitting as an appellate court over a decision delivered by another Federal High Court judge, Justice Liman, concerning the ADC leadership dispute.
He argued that the decisions undermined judicial hierarchy and established precedents, alleging that Lifu repeatedly disregarded binding Supreme Court decisions.
The former NHRC chairman said the controversy had gone beyond disagreements over individual judgments, describing it as a broader problem involving the assignment of cases and management of judicial proceedings at the Federal High Court.
He alleged that the pattern provided grounds to suspect deliberate collusion within the court’s hierarchy to secure predetermined outcomes in politically sensitive cases.
“Otherwise, how do cases involving @ADCNig keep going to him even after @NGCourtofAppeal on record called him a #JudicialRascal & found him guilty of ‘judicial impertinence’ in relation to matters affecting the same party?” he asked.
Odinkalu also challenged Tsoho to explain why ADC-related cases continued to be assigned to Lifu when other judges were available to handle them.
“Whoever sees John Tsoho should pls ask him: does he not know of other judges in the Federal High Court? Can he disclose whose interest he is serving because one thing is now clear: he is no longer serving the interest of justice in the office of Chief Judge of @FederalHigh…. And he knows it,” he wrote.
His criticism followed Thursday’s judgment by Justice Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which removed the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the ADC and nullified actions taken by the disputed leadership on behalf of the party.
The judgment also invalidated the process through which Atiku Abubakar emerged as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Politics Nigeria reports that the suit was instituted by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former National Deputy Chairman (North-East) of the ADC, who challenged the process through which the Mark-led leadership assumed control of the party.
Gombe argued that following the resignation of the former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, he was constitutionally qualified to assume the party’s leadership.
He consequently asked the court to nullify decisions taken by the Mark-led leadership and restrain Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as the party’s national chairman and secretary, respectively.
