A dispute over the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has produced conflicting decisions from two Federal High Court judges in Abuja.
Spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar, Kenneth Okonkwo, said on Sunday that Justice Peter Lifu ruled on 5 November 2026 that Nafiu Bala Gombe was the party’s authentic leader. His decision also nullified actions taken under the leadership of Senator David Mark.
The ruling has drawn criticism from Okonkwo, who accused the judge of using judicial power for political purposes.
How the leadership dispute began
The ADC was founded by Ralphs Nwosu and registered in 2005. The party later became the platform chosen by opposition politicians led by Atiku Abubakar.
After 18 months of negotiations, the party unveiled David Mark as national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary on 2 July 2025.
The party held a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on 29 July 2026 after giving the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 21 days’ notice.
INEC monitored the meeting and certified that it complied with existing electoral laws. The meeting dissolved the former NEC and installed the new leadership.
Nafiu Bala Gombe, who served as Deputy National Chairman for the North East under Nwosu, participated in the process. He also reportedly resigned from his position in writing and did not object to the leadership changes.
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Okonkwo claimed Bala later sought membership of the new NEC but failed to secure a position.
The writer also alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, advised Bala and Hon Leke Abejide to stay in the ADC and destroy the party.
Two judges, different decisions
Abejide had earlier challenged the ADC leadership in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025 before Justice Musa S. Liman at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Liman dismissed the case, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction over the party’s internal affairs. He also held that Abejide lacked the legal right to bring the action because he failed to show that the leadership change violated his rights.
The judge further ruled that Abejide had not used the party’s internal dispute resolution process.
On the main issues, Liman held that the transfer of leadership from Ralph Nwosu to David Mark did not violate the ADC Constitution or Electoral Act.
He ordered Abejide to pay N2 million in legal costs to each defendant. The court also awarded N10 million against his lawyer.
Bala separately challenged the Mark-led leadership in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025.
Justice Emeka Nwite initially handled the case and, on 4 September 2025, directed the respondents to show cause on a motion ex parte.
After appeals and a transfer request by Bala, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Tsoho, reassigned the case to Justice Lifu.
In his 5 November judgment, Lifu ruled that Mark’s emergence violated the party’s constitution and guidelines. He nullified decisions taken under Mark’s leadership and recognised Bala as the authentic ADC leader.
Okonkwo said both cases involved similar facts and should have produced the same outcome under the applicable laws.
He maintained that the ADC Constitution allowed its NEC to dissolve the existing leadership and install another when necessary.
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Okonkwo also questioned the cancellation of ADC candidates’ nominations in Lifu’s judgment.
He said the affected candidates were not parties to the case and were not given an opportunity to defend their interests before the court made orders affecting them.
He warned that the decision could affect the party’s registration after an election. Under the electoral requirement he cited, a political party must win a seat or secure 25 per cent of votes cast in a federal, state or local government election.
He noted that the ADC does not have a state governor, arguing that the judgment could threaten the party’s continued registration.
Okonkwo also referred to an earlier Court of Appeal condemnation of Lifu over his handling of a case seeking the deregistration of the ADC.
He accused the judge of proceeding with that case despite an order directing him to suspend the proceedings.
Okonkwo called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate the handling of the ADC cases and sanction any judicial officer found guilty of misconduct.
He also questioned the transfer of Bala’s case by Justice Tsoho, claiming it delayed the expedited hearing ordered by the Supreme Court.
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