The Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by former Senate President David Mark, invalidating decisions taken under its authority, including the emergence of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
The judgment, delivered on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu, also invalidated the emergence of former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, as the party’s National Secretary, alongside other national officers and candidates nominated by the party for the forthcoming elections.
Justice Lifu declared the Mark-led Caretaker Committee illegal, ruling that the process through which its members assumed leadership of the party violated the ADC constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution.
The court further directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognise or act on decisions taken at the party’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting held on July 27, 2025, including subsequent decisions and nominations for the 2027 elections.
The judgment followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, instituted by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC Deputy National Chairman (North-East), who challenged the process through which Mark and other members of the caretaker committee assumed control of the party.
Gombe had argued that following the resignation of the party’s former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, he was constitutionally entitled to assume leadership as the next-ranking national officer.
He consequently approached the court to invalidate decisions taken by the Mark-led leadership and restrain Mark, Aregbesola and other members of the caretaker committee from presenting themselves as legitimate national officers of the party.
The ADC, INEC, Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu were listed as defendants in the suit.
Upholding Gombe’s case, Justice Lifu granted the reliefs sought by the plaintiff, effectively nullifying the decisions taken by the disputed leadership structure.
Lawyers Explain Implications of Judgment
Speaking with journalists after the judgment, Gombe’s counsel, Lukman Fagbemi (SAN), said the court had invalidated all actions taken by the Mark-led leadership from July 27, 2025, and directed INEC not to recognise decisions arising from the party’s 99th NEC meeting.
He said the court reached its decision after examining the ADC constitution, relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, the 1999 Constitution and the party’s guidelines.
According to him, the court found that the Mark-led leadership did not emerge through constitutionally recognised procedures.
Fagbemi stated, “The implication of what we have gotten today is that the court, having reviewed the entire facts of the case, having reviewed the clear position of the law, party’s guidelines, party’s constitution, provisions of the Electoral Act and the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, finds as a fact that they did not emerge through lawful constitutional means and that there were flagrant breaches of all the relevant provisions that we have stated.
“The implication is that INEC, which has the duty to ensure that happens in line with Section 223 of the Constitution, has now been ordered not to recognise and not to act on all the decisions taken at the 99th NEC meeting of the party on July 27, 2025.
“All the actions taken by the ADC as a party since July 27 to date stand annulled.”
Another counsel to the plaintiff, Luka Musa Haruna (SAN), said the judgment effectively left the ADC without recognised candidates for the 2027 general elections, covering the presidential, governorship, Senate and House of Assembly contests.
Haruna recalled that the interlocutory aspect of the dispute had previously reached the Supreme Court, which directed that the substantive matter be returned to the Federal High Court for determination.
He said, “Today, the substantive issue has been determined, and all actions taken by the David Mark-led leadership of the ADC have been declared null and void.
“As it stands today, the ADC has no candidate from the presidential level to the House of Assembly, governorship, Senate and all other elective positions for the 2027 election. They don’t have any representation as it stands today, except you are from the camp of Nafiu Bala, who is the substantive chairman of the ADC.”
ADC Rejects Judgment, Vows to Appeal
Meanwhile, the ADC has rejected the judgment and announced its intention to challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.
The party’s National Welfare Secretary, Nkemakolam Ukandu, who was joined in the suit as an interested party, disclosed shortly after the ruling that the opposition party would appeal.
In a subsequent statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC described the judgment as politically motivated and alleged that it was intended to weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.
The party also argued that the ruling conflicted with an earlier judgment delivered by another Federal High Court in July 2026, which it said had upheld the leadership transition involving Mark and Aregbesola.
The ADC disclosed that it was awaiting the Certified True Copy of Thursday’s judgment to establish the precise orders made by the court before proceeding with its legal challenge.
It also alleged that the timing of the judgment was suspicious, claiming that its delivery was accelerated following the large turnout at Atiku’s presidential campaign rally in Sokoto on Wednesday. The party, however, did not provide evidence establishing a link between the rally and the court’s decision. <Cite refs={[“turn472823view2″,”turn472823view3”]}/>
The ruling comes barely 24 hours after Atiku formally commenced his presidential campaign with a rally in Sokoto State, where he reaffirmed his commitment to tackling insecurity and urged Nigerians to support the ADC in the 2027 elections.
The development represents a major legal setback for the opposition party, whose leadership crisis has been the subject of prolonged litigation since the emergence of the Mark-led caretaker committee in 2025.
While the Federal High Court’s judgment has invalidated the leadership structure and candidate selection process challenged by Gombe, the ADC’s planned appeal means the dispute is expected to continue before the appellate courts.
The final determination of the legal battle could have significant implications for the party’s leadership, Atiku’s presidential ambition and the ADC’s participation in the 2027 general elections.
