Politics
Why always Justice Omotosho, Lifu?, PDP questions distribution of its cases among three court Judges
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised concerns over the repeated allocation of its cases to Justices James Omotosho, Peter Lifu, and Mohammed Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division.
In a petition dated November 19 and addressed to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, FCT, Justice John Tsoho, and signed by the party’s National Secretary, Taofeek Arapaja, the PDP expressed worry over the constant fixation of matters involving the party before these three judges.
The petition cited recent rulings by the judges, including a decision by Justice Omotosho restraining the party from holding its national convention due to alleged non-compliance with party rules.
Similarly, Justice Lifu had directed the PDP to pause its convention until former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido could procure a nomination form to contest for the party’s National Chairmanship.
Despite these rulings, the party proceeded with the convention based on an order from Justice Ladiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court.
The PDP petition highlighted that such conflicting judgments have deepened factional divisions within the party, with rival groups loyal to the PDP Governors Forum and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike continuing to claim leadership of the party.
The petition reads in part: “It is of great concern to our party that for the past few years, cases filed for or against the PDP in the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, have consistently been assigned to Justices Omotosho, Lifu, and Abdulmalik, despite the availability of other judges in the division.
Several party members have expressed apprehension over this pattern, viewing these courts as ‘courts of particular concern’ regarding PDP matters.”
The PDP urged the Chief Judge to ensure that future cases involving the party are not automatically assigned to the three judges, emphasizing that justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done by reasonable members of society.
The party stressed that its concerns were solely about fairness and did not question the overall integrity of the judiciary.

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