The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under former Senate President David Mark, dismissing a suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide challenging the party’s leadership structure.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman held that Abejide’s case lacked merit and upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, and the party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola. The court ruled that the dispute was an internal party affair that falls outside its jurisdiction, describing it as non-justiciable. Justice Liman further held that Abejide failed to prove that his legal rights had been infringed by the emergence of the current party leadership.
The judge also noted that the lawmaker did not exhaust the ADC’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
On the substantive issues, the court found that the transition of the party’s leadership from Ralph Nwosu to David Mark complied with the provisions of the ADC constitution and relevant electoral laws.
According to the judgment, the stakeholders’ meeting held on July 2, 2025, during which Nwosu handed over leadership of the party, served as a precursor to the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of July 29, 2025. The NEC meeting, which was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), formally produced David Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary.
Justice Liman declared that the emergence of both officials was valid and in full compliance with the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act, 2026.
The court also imposed financial penalties on the plaintiff, ordering Abejide to pay ₦2 million in costs to each of the defendants. In addition, the judge awarded ₦10 million in costs against Abejide’s counsel in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Abejide had approached the court seeking to nullify the July 2, 2025 leadership handover, arguing that the appointments of David Mark and Aregbesola violated both the Electoral Act and the ADC constitution. He also sought orders restraining the two party leaders from performing their duties and preventing INEC from recognising them.
However, the Federal High Court dismissed all the reliefs sought by the lawmaker, effectively affirming the legitimacy of the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress.
