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 challenging the legitimacy of the party’s current leadership.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman held that the suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide lacked merit and was not justiciable, as it concerned the internal affairs of a political party.
The court upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, its former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, David Mark and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who currently serves as the party’s National Secretary.
Justice Liman ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter, stressing that internal leadership issues of political parties are generally beyond judicial intervention.
The judge also held that Abejide failed to establish that any of his legal rights had been violated by the emergence of the Mark-led leadership, thereby denying him the locus standi to institute the action.
He further observed that the lawmaker did not exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
On the substantive issues, Justice Liman ruled that the process through which Mark and Aregbesola assumed leadership of the ADC complied with the party’s constitution and relevant electoral laws.
He held that the decision of Ralph Nwosu to hand over the party’s leadership to Mark did not violate any provision of the ADC constitution.
The court also found that the stakeholders’ meeting held on July 2, 2025, preceded the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of July 29, 2025, where Mark and Aregbesola formally emerged as National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, in a process monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice Liman consequently declared that the emergence of the duo was valid and consistent with the provisions of the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act, 2026.
The court awarded costs of N2 million each in favour of the defendants, directing Abejide to pay the sums.
It also imposed a N10 million cost against the plaintiff’s counsel in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Abejide had approached the court seeking to nullify the transfer of the party’s leadership from Nwosu to Mark and Aregbesola, arguing that the process was unlawful.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, the lawmaker had also sought an order restraining Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as the party’s leaders and preventing INEC from recognising them in those capacities.
The suit named the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola and INEC as defendants.