The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed Senator David Mark’s leadership of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), dismissing a suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide challenging the emergence of Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary respectively.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman upheld preliminary objections raised by the ADC, its former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, Mark, and National Secretary Aregbesola. The judge held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter because it bordered on the internal affairs of a political party, which he described as non-justiciable.
Justice Liman also ruled that Abejide lacked legal standing to institute the suit, having failed to demonstrate how his rights were violated by the emergence of the current ADC leadership, and that the lawmaker did not exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism before approaching the court.
The judge resolved that the transfer of leadership by Nwosu did not contravene the ADC constitution, noting that the July 2, 2025 stakeholders’ meeting preceded the National Executive Committee meeting of July 29, 2025, which formally produced Mark and Aregbesola under Independent National Electoral Commission supervision.
The court declared that the emergence of the duo complied with the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act, 2026, and awarded costs of N2 million each against Abejide in favour of the defendants, plus N10 million against Abejide’s counsel.
Reacting, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar described the judgment as a victory for constitutional democracy, while Senator Mark called it a major victory for democracy and the rule of law.