Democracy On Trial: A Defining Moment For Nigeria’s Judiciary- Sufiyanu Mohammed Chukol

As judgment is delivered today in matters concerning the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a heavy shadow looms over the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic process. Credible reports suggest that judges are being subjected to intense pressure from forces aligned with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to weaken and cripple a rising opposition platform ahead of the 2027 elections.

This is not routine. This is a defining test of judicial integrity.

To Justice Emeka Nwite and all members of the bench presiding over this matter: you stand today not just as arbiters of law, but as gatekeepers of Nigeria’s democratic future. Whether as Christians or Muslims, history will judge you not by your faith, but by your courage.

Will you stand for justice or submit to pressure?

The judiciary must never become an instrument of political suppression. The courtroom is not an extension of party headquarters. Nigeria must not descend into a system where opposition is strangled through judicial manipulation rather than defeated through the ballot.

We warn, with the full weight of history behind us: nations have walked this dangerous path before and paid dearly for it.

In Zimbabwe, the steady compromise of judicial independence under political pressure enabled the erosion of democratic institutions, leading to economic collapse and decades of repression.

In Pakistan, repeated judicial validations of unconstitutional power grabs weakened democratic structures and entrenched cycles of instability that still haunt the nation today.

In Sri Lanka, the failure of institutions including the judiciary to act as a check on executive excesses contributed to economic disaster and mass civil unrest that shook the foundations of the state.

Even in Germany during the era of the Nazi rise to power, the judiciary’s inability and in some cases willingness to legitimize authoritarian overreach paved the way for one of history’s darkest chapters.

These are not distant stories. They are warnings.

To ignore them is to invite consequences.

The principle established time and again by the Supreme Court of Nigeria is clear: political parties must retain control over their internal affairs, free from external interference. To depart from this is to open the floodgates of judicial partisanship and democratic decline.

To Bola Ahmed Tinubu: history is watching your administration. The preservation of democracy rests not in the silencing of opposition, but in the protection of its right to exist, organize, and contest freely.

To the judges: this is your moment.

Do not allow the “cowboy” approach of political actors to define your legacy. Do not allow intimidation to override your oath. Do not mortgage the future of over 200 million Nigerians for temporary convenience.

Write your names in the sands of time not as enablers of democratic collapse, but as defenders of justice.

Let it be said that when Nigeria stood at the edge, you pulled her back.

Let it be said that you chose law over fear, courage over compromise, and truth over pressure.

Nigeria is watching. The world is watching.

Let democracy breathe-Mr Sufiyanu Mohammed Chukol writes from Abuja