The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) headed by former Senate President David Mark, dismissing a suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide for lacking merit.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman upheld the preliminary objections filed by the ADC, its former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, the party’s National Chairman, David Mark, National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, and other defendants.
The judge held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit because it concerned the internal affairs of a political party, which are generally non-justiciable.
Justice Liman also ruled that Abejide lacked the requisite legal standing to institute the action, having failed to show how the emergence of the current ADC leadership infringed on his rights.
He further held that the lawmaker failed to exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism before approaching the court.
The court resolved all the issues raised in the substantive suit in favour of the defendants.
On the legality of the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola as the party’s leaders, Justice Liman held that the transfer of leadership by Nwosu did not violate the ADC Constitution.
According to the court, the stakeholders’ meeting held on July 2, 2025, at which Nwosu handed over the party’s leadership, preceded the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of July 29, 2025, where Mark and Aregbesola were formally elected National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, under the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The judge held that their emergence complied with both the ADC Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2026.
Justice Liman subsequently awarded costs of ₦2 million each in favour of the defendants against Abejide.
The court also ordered Abejide’s counsel to pay ₦10 million in costs pursuant to the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Abejide had sued the ADC, Nwosu, Mark, Aregbesola and INEC, seeking to nullify the July 2, 2025, handover of the party’s leadership.
Among the reliefs sought, the lawmaker asked the court to restrain Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as the ADC’s National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, and to bar INEC from recognising them as the party’s leaders.
He argued that their emergence was inconsistent with the provisions of the ADC Constitution and the Electoral Act.
