By Okoi Obono-Obla
The Danger of Silence in the Face of Injustice:
The matter of factional infighting concerns all Nigerians who desire democracy, fair play, and justice to reign supreme in our country. An injury to one is indeed an injury to all. Those who believe we should close our eyes to impunity, injustice, and lawlessness must be reminded of what happened in Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler. When he began his campaign of hatred and extermination against the Jews, the Catholic Church and several other groups that he spared did not rise in unison to condemn his actions. After he had brutally dealt with the Jewish people, he turned his attention to Ukrainians, Black people, Slavic peoples, and the Polish.
As the Catholic priest Martin Niemöller lamented:
“First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
We must condemn injustice wherever it rears its head, not remain silent simply because we feel safe. Otherwise, that same injustice will eventually come after us.
On 28 April 2026, the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Honourable Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, delivered judgment in a case filed by Normon Obinna and State Chairmen of the ADC against Senator David Bonaventure Mark’s faction of the ADC. Justice Abdulmalik made the following declarations:
1. The tenure of the State Working Committee and the Executive Committee of the 1st Defendant still subsists by virtue of their unexpired tenure as guaranteed by the 1st Defendant’s Constitution, and they must be allowed to carry out their constitutional duties unhindered.
2. By virtue of Article 19 (9) (iv) of the 1st Defendant’s Constitution, the conduct of State Congresses is the exclusive function of the State Executive Committee. Therefore, the appointment of “Congress Committee Members” or a so-called Kangaroo Committee is a contraption to usurp the powers of elected members of the State Executive Committee whose tenure has not expired.
3. This improvised contraption is arbitrary, ultra vires, and an audacious violation of the Constitution of the 1st Defendant.
4. An order of perpetual injunction restraining the 1st to 6th Defendants, their agents, privies, assigns, successors-in-title, representatives, and all persons claiming through or under them from organizing State Congresses or any congress, or convoking a National Convention for the 1st Defendant.
The fourth order by Justice Abdulmalik is decisive. It restrains Senator David Mark’s faction—including their agents, privies, successors-in-title, assigns, and all persons claiming through or under them—from organizing any State Congress, National Convention, Conference, or meeting to nominate candidates for elective positions in the 2027 general elections or for party leadership. This order is broad, comprehensive, and all-encompassing.
A perpetual injunction means an order in perpetuity—until eternity. Yet, stewards of the ADC continue to deceive themselves, pretending all is well, cloaking their actions under the Supreme Court’s vacating of the Status Quo Ante Bellum. This is not reality but a farce.
Conclusion:
The lesson is clear: silence in the face of injustice is complicity. Just as Niemöller warned, if we fail to speak out against impunity today, tomorrow it will consume us all. Nigerians must insist that democracy, justice, and fair play remain supreme, lest factional recklessness erode the very foundation of our political system
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