Court Fines Aregbesola, ADC N1m Over Recusal Motion

The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, imposed a fine of N1 million on Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for submitting a motion that sought the judge's recusal. The application was deemed baseless and an attempt to manipulate the judicial process.

Aregbesola's ADC had filed the motion in response to a suit by Bala Nafiu, which sought to restrain David Mark and Aregbesola from acting as members of the party's interim national working committee. Justice Lifu ruled that the motion lacked merit and was devoid of credible evidence, emphasizing that allegations made in the application were unfounded and constituted an abuse of court process.

The judge also stated that parties cannot choose which judge hears their case and warned against using the court as a tool for intimidation. The case is adjourned until June 23 for further hearing.