The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to sanction judges who entertain and adjudicate intra-party disputes.
The NBA also petitioned the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) against lawyers who help politicians file such litigations, in contravention of the 2026 Electoral law.
NBA president, Afam Osigwe, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, following litigations by aggrieved politicians which led the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to derecognise the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and remove the names of the national chairman, David Mark and national secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, from its website.
The lawyer of Nafiu Bello, the ex-ADC national deputy chairman, had filed a suit seeking for INEC to recognise him as the authentic ADC chairman, following the resignation of the founder and immediate past chairman, Ralph Nwosu.
The derecognition, which will bar the ADC from fielding a presidential candidate for the 2027 election, has prompted ongoing protests at the INEC headquarters in Abuja, as well as public condemnation of the move by the electoral body, alleging it is helping the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) impose a one-party system in the country.
The NBA, in reaction to the developments, said, “We particularly deprecate the disturbing involvement by lawyers and courts in the internal affairs of political parties despite the clear provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, which stipulates in Section 83 of the Act that “No court in Nigeria shall entertain jurisdiction over any suit or matter pertaining to the internal affairs of a political party.”
“Not only are courts denied jurisdiction to entertain any matter pertaining to the internal affairs of a political party, but they are also precluded from granting any interim or interlocutory injunction even where any action has been brought in violation of the Act.
“The section further provides that “Where such an action is brought in negation of this provision, no interim or interlocutory injunction shall be entertained by the Court, but the Court shall suspend its ruling and deliver it at the stage of final judgment and shall give accelerated hearing to the matter.”
“We call on the National Judicial Council to make regulations that will sanction any judge who knowingly assumes jurisdiction in matters clearly barred by law, grants orders in respect of intra-party disputes in violation of statutory provisions, or lends the authority of the court to partisan political manoeuvring,” the NBA added.
“The NBA will not shy away from drawing the NJC’s attention to the actions of any judicial officer found to have acted in a manner inconsistent with the judicial oath, constitutional responsibilities, and the preservation of public confidence in the courts. The NBA will not hesitate to activate its constitutional responsibility to protect the integrity of the justice system.
“The NBA will take firm steps to deter such conduct. Lawyers who deliberately file actions aimed at procuring judicial interference in intra-party affairs, or who seek ex parte or interlocutory orders in clear violation of statutory provisions, risk facing disciplinary proceedings.
“We will not hesitate to present petitions before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) against any Legal Practitioner found to be engaging in such conduct. This will be pursued decisively to serve as a deterrent and to preserve the sanctity of the judicial process.”
Expressing “serious constitutional, democratic, and rule-of-law concerns”, the NBA said the issue required immediate attention.
Mr NBA added, “What we now see are situations where actions are not only instituted in Courts by lawyers in clear violation of the Act, but Courts purportedly grant interim and/or interlocutory injunctions in clear contempt of statutory provisions of the law.”
According to legal association, such lawyers’ actions and courts’ decisions will stop Nigeria’s democracy from thriving, stating that, “This emerging trend of subverting the clear letters of the Electoral Act and dragging courts into the internal affairs of political parties through disingenuous litigation, forum shopping, and malafide applications designed to secure undemocratic political advantage, bodes no good for our democracy.
“Such practices, if not immediately curbed, would directly contradict the clear intendment of the Electoral Act and risk transforming the judicial processes into avenues for political score-settling or electoral manipulation.”
Reminding members of the bar that they are ministers in the temple of justice, and not political agents seeking judicial endorsement of partisan objectives, the NBA said filing actions to draw courts into internal political party disputes, particularly where jurisdiction is expressly excluded, is an abuse of court process and a violation of professional responsibility.
The NBA urged the Nigerian judiciary to resist being drawn into political theatrics and firmly decline invitations, no matter how artfully crafted, to intervene in matters the law explicitly bars them from, reiterating that when statutes limit judicial meddling in party affairs, judges must show restraint, adhere to the law, and focus on cases properly before them.
“The Bar will deploy all lawful mechanisms, engagement, advisory opinions, strategic litigation, and disciplinary processes, to ensure that lawyers do not weaponise the legal process so that the judiciary is not misused. Lawyers must remain officers of the court, not architects of procedural manipulation.
“Nigeria’s democracy must not be weakened by legal manoeuvring, institutional capture, or the misuse of judicial authority. The courts must remain arbiters of justice, not instruments of political advantage. Electoral institutions must remain neutral umpires, not participants in political contests,” it added.
Urging the INEC to operate within the bounds of constitutional democracy, the NBA also called on the electoral institution to be neutral, independent, and faithful to democratic values.
It noted that the electoral body must not be perceived as a participant in political engineering or as an institution whose regulatory authority is deployed in a manner that weakens political pluralism.
“The Chairman of INEC, being a distinguished Professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is uniquely positioned to appreciate the constitutional implications of these developments,” the NBA said.
The legal association stated that it expects the INEC, under his leadership, to ensure that its actions reflect independence, fairness, and strict adherence to democratic norms.
“The Bar is closely watching the conduct of the commission and expects that its regulatory role will strengthen, not diminish, confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process,” it added.
