By By Elizabeth Ugbo
A Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under former Senate President David Mark.
Justice Musa Liman delivered the judgment on Thursday. He dismissed the suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide, describing it as lacking merit.
The ruling also confirmed Rauf Aregbesola as the party’s National Secretary.
Court Upholds ADC Leadership
Justice Liman ruled that the emergence of David Mark and Aregbesola complied with both the ADC Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2026.
The judge held that the party followed due process before appointing the new leadership.
According to the court, former ADC National Chairman Ralph Nwosu first handed over the party’s leadership during a stakeholders’ meeting on July 2, 2025.
Afterwards, the National Executive Committee formally ratified the appointments on July 29, 2025. INEC supervised the meeting.
Therefore, the court found no violation of the party’s constitution.
Abejide Challenged Leadership Change
Abejide filed the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, on February 15.
He sued the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The lawmaker asked the court to nullify the July 2, 2025 leadership handover.
He also sought an order restraining Mark and Aregbesola from acting as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary.
In addition, he urged the court to stop INEC from recognising them as ADC leaders.
Abejide argued that their appointments breached the ADC Constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
Why the Court Dismissed the Suit
Justice Liman sustained the preliminary objections raised by the defendants.
First, he ruled that the dispute involved the internal affairs of a political party. Therefore, the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
Second, the judge held that Abejide failed to establish legal standing because he did not show how the leadership change violated his rights.
Furthermore, the court found that he did not exhaust the ADC’s internal dispute resolution process before filing the case.
As a result, the court resolved every issue in favour of the defendants.
Court Awards Costs Against Abejide
Following the dismissal, the court awarded N2 million in costs to each defendant against Abejide.
Justice Liman also ordered Abejide’s counsel to pay an additional N10 million as costs under the Electoral Act, 2026.
The judgment effectively ends the legal challenge against the current ADC leadership.
