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 the suit lacked merit and was not justiciable, ruling that it bordered on the internal affairs of a political party.
The court upheld the preliminary objections filed by the ADC, its former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, incumbent National Chairman David Mark, and National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola.
Justice Liman ruled that Abejide failed to prove that any of his legal rights had been violated by the emergence of the party’s current leadership. He also held that the lawmaker did not exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism before approaching the court.
According to the judge, issues relating to the internal administration and leadership of political parties are generally beyond the jurisdiction of the courts unless there is a clear breach of the law or infringement of a member’s legal rights.
On the substantive issues, the court found that the transition of leadership from Nwosu to Mark complied with both the ADC Constitution and the Electoral Act.
Justice Liman held that the stakeholders’ meeting held on July 2, 2025, and the subsequent National Executive Committee meeting on July 29, 2025, formed part of the lawful process that produced Mark as National Chairman and Aregbesola as National Secretary.
The court also noted that the NEC meeting was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), further validating the process.
Consequently, the court declared that the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola as the party’s national officers was lawful and in line with the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
As part of the judgment, Justice Liman ordered Abejide to pay ₦2 million in litigation costs to each of the defendants and awarded an additional ₦10 million against his counsel in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
Abejide had filed the suit seeking to nullify the leadership transition, arguing that the appointments of Mark and Aregbesola were unlawful and asking the court to restrain them from acting in their official capacities while preventing INEC from recognising them.
However, the court dismissed all the reliefs sought and affirmed the legitimacy of the ADC’s current leadership.
