The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), upholding the emergence of former Senate President David Mark as the party’s National Chairman and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola as its National Secretary.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman dismissed a suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide, describing the action as lacking merit.
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The court also upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, former National Chairman Chief Ralph Nwosu, David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola.
Justice Liman ruled that the court lacked the jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of the political party, holding that the matter was non-justiciable.
He further held that Abejide failed to establish that his legal rights had been violated by the emergence of the current leadership and, therefore, lacked the necessary standing to institute the action.
The judge also noted that the lawmaker did not exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
On the substantive issues, Justice Liman resolved all three questions in favour of the defendants. He held that Chief Ralph Nwosu’s transfer of the party’s leadership to David Mark did not contravene the provisions of the ADC Constitution.
The court further found that the stakeholders’ meeting held on 2 July 2025, which Abejide sought to invalidate, lawfully preceded the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of 29 July 2025.
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According to the judgment, the NEC meeting, monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), validly produced David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as the party’s national leaders.
Justice Liman consequently declared that the emergence of the duo complied with the party’s constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026, and other relevant legal provisions governing political parties.
In addition to dismissing the suit, the court awarded costs of N2 million each in favour of all the defendants, payable by Abejide. The court also imposed a N10 million penalty on Abejide’s counsel in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Abejide had sought to nullify the leadership transition, arguing that the handover of the party by Nwosu to Mark and Aregbesola was unlawful and requesting an order restraining both men, as well as INEC, from recognising or acting on their appointments.
The court, however, rejected all the reliefs sought, bringing the legal challenge against the ADC leadership to an end.
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