Court Dismisses Suit Seeking To Bar Kingibe From ADC Activities

The Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit seeking to restrain Senator Ireti Kingibe from participating in the activities of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), effectively clearing her of the case since March.

In suit marked FHC/ABJ/CV/539/2026, Justice Peter Lifu in a ruling delivered on Friday held that the issue of discipline and suspension upon which the suit was predicated was an internal affair of the ADC that did not require the intervention of any court.

The suit was filed by Okezuo Godfrey Anayo and Isaiah Ojonugwa Samuel on behalf of themselves and ward members as plaintiffs, with Senator Kingibe as the sole defendant.

Through their counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Kolawole Olowookere, the plaintiffs had sought an interim injunction restraining the senator from parading herself as a member of the ADC pending determination of their motion on notice.

Justice Lifu held that it is Senator Kingibe, being the one suspended, that ought to be in court to fight against the disciplinary action against her, adding that the plaintiffs were not sure of themselves in their own action.

While holding that the suit was frivolous, baseless and unfounded, Justice Lifu invoked Sections 82 and 83 of the Electoral Act and imposed a N10m fine on the plaintiffs payable to the FCT senator.

The judge further imposed another N10m fine on the lawyer who filed the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs, also payable to Senator Kingibe, bringing the total award against the plaintiffs to N20m.

Senator Kingibe had been suspended on March 10, 2026 by the Wuse Ward chapter of the ADC over alleged anti-party activities and violations of the party’s constitution.

Her counsel, Marshall Abubakar, had argued at the hearing that the matter lacked merit, describing it as an internal affair of the party, and contended that the plaintiffs had no legal standing to institute the case, noting that they were themselves suspended members.

He further argued that only the National Working Committee of the ADC has the authority to suspend members, not ward-level executives.

The ruling effectively clears the way for Senator Kingibe to continue her affiliation and activities within the ADC without further legal challenge from the Wuse Ward executives.