NDC: How Judicial rascality can be stopped – Atedo Peterside

By Henry Oduah

Investment banker and economist Atedo Peterside has said that judicial rascality can be stopped, not just by relying on appeal courts to overturn “obnoxious judgements” but through disciplinary action.

Mr Peterside said on Saturday in an X post that reliance on appellate courts alone to do right would encourage judges to plunge into delivering “procurable obnoxious judgements”.

The banker’s statement was in reaction to Senator Sola Akinyede’s X post on the ruling by the  Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja which set aside its earlier judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party.

The NDC has picked former Anambra State governor Peter Obi and ex-governor of Kano State Rabiu Kwankwaso as its presidential and vice-presidential candidates respectively to challenge President Bola Tinubu at the 2027 polls.

“Sad. Judicial systems are not sustained by the corrective powers of their appellate system, but by judicial decency & integrity. Until the CJN enforces these qualities, the Nigerian Judiciary will continue on its journey of self-destruction, igniting the truncation of our democracy,” Akinyede, a former Ekiti South lawmaker, had written.

Peterside, founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, applauded Akinyede for his opinion, noting, “Well said @SolaA63524. The cure for Judicial Rascality is disciplinary action. Glossing over rascality whilst relying on Appeal Courts alone to overturn obnoxious judgements encourages more judges to go into the lucrative business of delivering procurable obnoxious judgements.”

‎Justice Isah Dashen, who delivered the controversial ruling on Friday, held that the court’s December 10, 2025 judgment adversely affected the rights of the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which was not joined as a party in the suit despite claiming ownership of the logo relied upon in obtaining the judgment.

The NDC has since rejected the ruling, vowing to appeal.

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