The Federal High Court in Abuja has upheld the leadership of the African Democratic Congress under former Senate President David Mark, dismissing a suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide for lacking merit.
Delivering judgment, Justice Musa Liman upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, its former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, the party’s National Chairman, David Mark, and National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola.
The judge ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter, holding that the dispute bordered on the internal affairs of a political party and was therefore not justiciable.
Justice Liman also held that Abejide lacked the legal standing to institute the suit, noting that the lawmaker failed to show that his legal rights had been violated by the emergence of the party’s current leadership.
The court further ruled that Abejide did not exhaust the ADC’s internal dispute resolution mechanism before approaching the court.
Justice Liman 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 National Chairman and National Secretary respectively, the court held that the leadership transition initiated by Nwosu complied with the provisions of the ADC constitution.
The judge noted that the stakeholders’ meeting held on July 2, 2025, during which Nwosu handed over the party’s leadership, preceded the National Executive Committee meeting of July 29, 2025, where the appointments of Mark and Aregbesola were formally ratified under the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
According to the court, the entire process complied with the provisions of the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act, 2026.
Justice Liman subsequently awarded ₦2 million in costs against Abejide in favour of each of the defendants.
The court also ordered Abejide’s counsel to pay an additional ₦10 million in costs pursuant to the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Abejide had sued the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola and the Independent National Electoral Commission, 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 and to prevent INEC from recognising them as officials of the party.
He argued that their emergence did not comply with the party’s constitution and the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
