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The Federal High Court in Abuja has removed the Senator David Mark-led executives of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The court also nullified every action they took on behalf of the party.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, November 5, Justice Peter Lifu declared the Mark-led Caretaker Committee illegal. The committee organised the primary election that produced Atiku Abubakar as the ADC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
The judge also nullified the positions of Mark, Rauf Aregbesola and other members of the committee as national officers of the party. He ruled that candidates nominated under the leadership also lose their nominations because the committee that supervised their emergence lacked legal authority.
Justice Lifu held that the Mark-led leadership violated the ADC constitution, the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution.
Nafiu Bala Gombe, the party’s deputy national chairman for the North-East, filed the suit. He challenged the process through which Mark and other party officials assumed leadership.
Gombe argued that the committee took control after former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu resigned. He also maintained that he had the right to lead the party.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, listed the ADC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu as defendants. Gombe asked the court to stop Mark and Aregbesola from presenting themselves as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary.
The judgment also affects Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambition under the ADC. Since the Mark-led committee organised the primary that produced him, the court’s decision nullifies the process and his nomination.
INEC had already published Atiku as the ADC’s presidential candidate, with former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate. The judgment came less than 24 hours after Atiku held a rally in Sokoto State.
The ADC has announced plans to appeal the ruling at the Court of Appeal.
The decision adds another chapter to the party’s leadership dispute. In April, the Supreme Court restored Mark’s leadership on an interim basis and directed the Federal High Court to conclude the stalled proceedings.
The ADC’s appeal will now take the dispute back to the appellate courts. However, the immediate arrangements for the party’s leadership remain unclear. The ruling also raises questions about how INEC will handle the party’s candidate list while the appeal continues.
