The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has accused President Bola Tinubu of using court cases and violence to frustrate opposition politicians ahead of the 2027 general election.
Sowore alleged that the legal battles involving opposition parties, particularly the African Democratic Congress (ADC), were part of a deliberate strategy by Tinubu to discourage Nigerians seeking to challenge him in the next presidential election.
He made the allegation in a post on Thursday, following a Federal High Court judgment that invalidated the Senator David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the ADC and actions taken under its authority, including the process that produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate.
According to Sowore, Tinubu deploys the courts against some political opponents, while resorting to violence against those he cannot stop through legal means.
He specifically alleged that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, pulls the strings in the judicial strategy.
“The court cases against political parties, at this point the @ADCNig, are part of Tinubu’s strategic plans to confuse and dissuade Nigerians seeking to run against him. For some, his strategy is to use the courts, where his henchman, Nyesom Wike, pulls the strings,” he wrote.
He added, “Against those he cannot stop in court, he will deploy violence in some cases, using both methods.”
The former presidential candidate of the AAC argued that only revolutionary resistance could confront what he described as Tinubu’s undemocratic tactics.
“Unfortunately, Tinubu @officialabat does not believe in democracy,” he said.
Describing the president as a “crooked political operative”, Sowore maintained that the alleged tactics would not save him in 2027 but could trigger a revolution.
“Only revolutionary resistance can confront these wicked strategies.
“He (TINUBU) is a crooked political operative, but none of these desperate tactics can save him. Instead, they will eventually become the catalysts for the revolution that Tinubu himself will provoke, whether he likes it or not,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has welcomed the court judgment, describing it as a victory for the rule of law.
In a reaction to the ruling, Keyamo declared that “justice may be slow, but it is always sure!”
Keyamo argued that the manner in which the party’s leadership was taken over violated established procedures.
“You cannot invade a political party owned and built by Nigerians and hijack it with the connivance of a so-called National Chairman without a prior meeting and approval of a mini National Convention or the National Executive Committee,” he said.
The minister accused those behind the takeover of attempting to blame the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the consequences of their actions.
He said they could not “bluff your way out of such a brazen act by blaming and blackmailing the ruling Party for a misfortune deliberately stocked by you.”
The judgment followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, filed by the ADC’s former National Deputy Chairman (North-East), Nafiu Bala Gombe.
Gombe had asked the court to nullify all actions taken by the Mark-led leadership, arguing that he was entitled to assume the party’s leadership following the resignation of its former National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu.
The defendants in the suit were the ADC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Senator Mark, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Chief Nwosu.
The plaintiff also sought an order restraining Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, on the grounds that their emergence violated the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act.
Justice Lifu upheld Gombe’s claims and granted the reliefs sought.
Reacting further, Keyamo maintained that the court based its decision on evidence and the law rather than public sentiment.
“Sorry, but the law is decided on facts and evidence, rather than sentiments and outrage by a group of people,” he said.
Keyamo dismissed suggestions that the judgment posed a threat to Nigeria’s democracy, arguing that the ADC remained an existing political party despite the court’s decision.
“It is not only when a certain Atiku Abubakar contests the presidency that democracy is not in danger. The ADC as a party is well and alive and populated by people and original leaders who are no less Nigerians than David Mark and his illegal band of marauders,” he added.
