BREAKING: COURT CONFIRMS DAVID MARK AS ADC LEADER, DISMISSES ABEJIDE’S LEGAL CHALLENGE

COURT CONFIRMS DAVID MARK AS ADC LEADER, DISMISSES ABEJIDE’S LEGAL CHALLENGE


The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), officially recognizing former Senate President, Senator David Mark, as the valid leader of the party while dismissing a suit filed by House of Representatives member, Leke Abejide, challenging the emergence of the party’s new leadership structure.


Delivering judgment in the matter, Justice Musa Liman ruled that the suit lacked merit and upheld preliminary objections raised by the ADC, former party chairman Chief Ralph Nwosu, Senator David Mark, and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who was also named in the suit. The court held that the matter involved the internal affairs of a political party, an area where judicial interference is generally restricted, making the case non-justiciable.


Justice Liman further ruled that Abejide failed to establish legal standing to institute the case as he was unable to demonstrate that any of his rights had been violated by the emergence of the Mark-led leadership. The court also noted that the plaintiff did not exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.


In resolving the substantive issues raised in the suit, the judge ruled in favour of all defendants and held that the transfer of party leadership by former ADC National Chairman Ralph Nwosu to Senator David Mark did not violate the party’s constitution or any relevant law. According to the judgment, the stakeholders’ meeting held on July 2, 2025, which preceded the National Executive Council meeting of July 29, 2025, formed part of the legitimate process that produced David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary respectively.


The court also noted that the leadership transition process was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), further strengthening its validity. Justice Liman consequently declared that the emergence of David Mark and Aregbesola complied with the party constitution, the Electoral Act and all applicable legal procedures guiding political party administration in Nigeria.


The court further ordered Leke Abejide to pay N2 million each to all defendants involved in the suit as legal costs while also imposing an additional N10 million penalty against Abejide’s lawyer in line with provisions of the Electoral Act.


Abejide had earlier approached the court seeking an order nullifying the transfer of ADC leadership by Ralph Nwosu to David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola during a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, arguing that the process was unlawful and failed to comply with electoral provisions. He also sought an injunction restraining both Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as leaders of the party while asking the court to prevent INEC from recognizing them.


However, Thursday’s ruling has now brought the legal challenge to an end and firmly affirmed the legitimacy of the current leadership structure of the African Democratic Congress.

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