Bombshell: Justice Peter Lifu Is A Hitman, Cj Tsoho Is The Enabler  — Odinkalu

By Anselm Chidi Odinkalu

▪️Photo: CJ John Terhemba Tsoho is the enabler of Justice Peter Lifu’s controversial judgments says Prof Chidi Odinkalu

Highlight

▪️Who is beating the drums in the bush to the music Justice Peter Lifu and CJ John Terhemba Tsoho are dancing to on the road?

Today, I consider it important to address the real culprit or masquerade behind the transactional judicial jobbery of #PeterLifu in @FederalHigh. 

That masquerade is John Terhemba Tsoho. He is the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.

The role of Chief Judge comes with real powers. Among other things, he is responsible for postings & transfer of judges.

Then, there is case assignment.

In most other countries, cases are assigned by algorithm. In Nigeria, after a case is filed, the file goes to the Chief Judge (or to the senior-nost judge in the judicial division, often known as the Admin Judge) who then assigns the case to a judge to hear it.

This process is not just manual; it is personal. 

This is often also the most important decision in many cases. It controls the outcome. In the Federal High Court of John Tsoho, this often pre-determines cases, especially when the cases have a political flavour.

Chief Judge John Tsoho has a closed list of acolytes whom he trusts to hear & decide political cases in the direction of the political wind or patron to be serviced. That is now clear & it is no use hiding it.

The political patron whose interest he serves is also easy to figure out. 

Peter Lifu occupies a treasured place in that list of #PoliticalHitmen on the bench of @federalhigh. He can only do so because John Tsoho encourages him to. Here is a peek into Peter Lifu’s recent record:

1. Declared the David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the ADC illegal.

2. Nullified the emergence of David Mark as National Chairman.

3. Invalidated Rauf Aregbesola’s emergence as National Secretary.

4. Nullified decisions taken by the disputed leadership, including the presidential primary that produced Atiku Abubakar.

5. Invalidated the nominations of other ADC candidates for the 2027 elections.

6. Directed @inecnigeria not to recognise decisions taken at the party’s July 27, 2025 NEC meeting.

7. Disregarded the specific order of the Court of Appeal to stay proceedings in relation to 1. 

8. Sat as his own court of appeal on the decision of Liman J. also of the same Court in relation to 4-5.

These decisions ransack the discipline of judicial hierarchy & precedent. To reach them, Peter Lifu routinely & repeatedly disregards controlling precedent from @SupremeCourtNg. Most other judges who do that will be out of a job. Yet he prospers. 

The problem with Peter Lifu & the slate of political surrogates masquerading as judges under the leadership of John Tsoho in @FederalHigh has moved beyond a critique of discrete decisions in specific cases.

It is about a pattern of manifestly compromised case assignments & docket management by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho,  which provides ample evidence  in support of the conclusion that there is a deliberate collusion in the court hierarchy to produce pre-determined decisions from the court of Lifu & his coven of politically corrupted judges.

Otherwise, how do cases involving @ADCNig keep going to him even after @NGCourtofAppeal on record called him a #JudicialRascal & found him guilty of “judicial impertinence” in relation to matters affecting the same party?

Whoever sees John Tsoho should please ask him: does he not know of other judges in the Federal High Court? Can he disclose whose interest he is serving because one thing is now clear: he is no longer serving the interest of justice in the office of Chief Judge of @FederalHigh…. And he knows it.

▪️Odinkalu is an eminent Nigerian lawyer.