ABUJA — Prominent human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, has launched a blistering public attack on Federal High Court Judge, Justice Peter Lifu, over what he characterized as a bizarre and compromised judicial performance.
Loading ...The public condemnation followed two highly controversial, consecutive rulings handed down by Justice Lifu regarding the legal status and internal leadership structure of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Taking to his official social media handle on Wednesday, Odinkalu explicitly questioned the logical and ethical capacity of the jurist, describing him as a “low-budget hatchet man wearing a full-bottomed wig.”
The Clash of Incompatible Verdicts
According to Odinkalu, Justice Lifu presided over a Federal High Court session on one day and issued a sweeping order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to de-register the ADC as a recognized political party in Nigeria.
However, in a move that has left the legal community deeply baffled, the very next day, the same judge sat in his chambers to adjudicate upon an internal leadership dispute involving different factions of the exact same party.
“One day, Peter Lifu sits as judge of the Federal High Court to order INEC to de-register ADC,” Odinkalu pointed out. “The next day, he presumes to sit again as a judge to adjudicate over the leadership of a party he says does not exist?”
A Critical Crisis of Judicial Capacity
The explosive critique strikes at the heart of growing public concern regarding conflicting judgments and judicial summersaults emanating from the Federal High Court benches in recent times.
Odinkalu argued that the glaring contradiction in the consecutive rulings demonstrates that the issue is no longer about a mere oversight or a misinterpretation of complex legal statutes. Instead, the veteran legal scholar asserted that the actions indicate a deliberate manipulation of judicial power to serve external political interests.
“It is not that he lacks the capacity to see that there is a problem,” Odinkalu stated bluntly. “It is that it should now be quite evident that Peter Lifu no longer has the capacity to function as a judge.”
Mounting Demands for NJC Intervention
The public calling-out of a sitting Federal High Court judge by a senior legal figure of Odinkalu’s stature is expected to increase pressure on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to review the matter.
Legal analysts warn that allowing judges to issue contradictory orders on consecutive days regarding the same corporate entity severely diminishes public trust in the rule of law and damages the institutional integrity of the judiciary ahead of the 2027 electoral cycle.
Neither the Federal High Court leadership nor Justice Lifu’s chambers have issued an official response to the widely circulated criticism.
