Adetunmbi defends judiciary, calls for restraint in political power struggle

Michael Olumide

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and lead counsel to the Accord Party, Musibau Adetunmbi, has urged the Federal Government to avoid excessive political desperation and allow the rule of law to guide the country’s democratic processes.

Adetunmbi made the remarks on Wednesday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, amid the legal battle surrounding the deregistration of some political parties.

He warned that the quest for political power should not come at the expense of democratic institutions and constitutional principles.

“First and foremost, the current federal government should please not be too desperate about power. They should please not be too desperate about power. They should allow the rule of law to prevail,” he said.

His comments come days after Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party and three other political parties over alleged failure to meet constitutional requirements for political parties in Nigeria.

However, the Court of Appeal on Tuesday halted the implementation of the judgment by granting a stay of execution on the Federal High Court’s decision.
Providing an update on the legal proceedings, Adetunmbi said the Accord Party remained committed to defending its rights through lawful means.

“You could remember yesterday that I told you that the Accord Party would do everything within the ambit of the law to ensure that we can defend our rights and right the wrong. By the special grace of Almighty Allah, we were in that court yesterday. Arguments were taken for and against, and at the end of the day, their lordships ruled that the enforcement of that judgment be stalled.
We are going back on June 25 to take the main appeal,” he stated.

On the role of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the matter, the senior lawyer rejected claims that the electoral body was taking sides in favour of the Accord Party.

“I will not say INEC is throwing its weight behind our party. INEC is throwing its weight behind the justice of the matter. It’s not throwing its weight behind our party,” he said.

Adetunmbi argued that INEC’s constitutional powers concerning the regulation and deregistration of political parties should not be politicised.

“The truth of the matter is that the power to deregister any political party belongs to INEC. But just like I said, this matter is sub judice, and when it is sub judice, you don’t have the liberty to analyse some things. INEC, knowing that it is within its own power, knows what to do,” he added.

The SAN also defended the Nigerian judiciary, saying that while there may be isolated cases of misconduct, such incidents should not be used to portray the entire judicial system as compromised.

“In the judiciary, we have so many honest jurists at all the courts of record – the High Courts, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. But just like in every society, we have a Judas, or we have the bad eggs. Society is doing everything, the Nigerian Bar Association is doing its best, and the supervisory bodies, too are doing their best,” he said.

He further expressed concern over the increasing number of political cases before the courts, saying they were consuming judicial time that should ordinarily be devoted to criminal and civil matters affecting ordinary Nigerians.

“Prisoners are there. People who are accused, either rightly or wrongly, are in detention or jail when their cases have not been concluded. The precious judicial time that should have been spent on their cases is now being spent on political cases because, under our law, pre-election matters must be given priority.

“Even political cases that are not pre-election matters are, by policy, being given priority. We must look at our problems holistically and ask ourselves what we can do to put Nigeria on the path of the right attitude,” he said.

Addressing concerns about judicial independence and allegations that some judges disregard superior court decisions, Adetunmbi maintained that many of such cases involve disputes over legal precedents rather than outright disobedience of court orders.

“Even in all other cases, most of those judges were accused of not following precedent, not that they deliberately disobeyed a direct order of the court,” he explained.

The senior lawyer also lamented the poor state of judicial infrastructure across the country, noting that many courtrooms still operate under difficult conditions.
“You get to some courtrooms, and some of the courtrooms are not something to write home about,” he said.

He nevertheless expressed confidence in the oversight mechanisms of the National Judicial Council (NJC), noting that the body has established procedures for monitoring judges and handling complaints against judicial officers.

“They have several judgments that they must turn in quarterly, and any petition, if you write a petition, they will look at it,” Adetunmbi said, stressing that due process remains central to maintaining accountability and public confidence in the judiciary.