Federal High Court in Abuja has upheld the leadership of African Democratic Congress (ADC) headed by former Senate President David Mark, dismissing a suit filed by a member of the House of Representatives, Leke Abejide, challenging the party’s leadership structure.
Gatekeepers News reports that delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman ruled that the case lacked merit and affirmed the preliminary objections raised by ADC, its former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, David Mark and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
The judge further held that the court lacked jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of a political party, describing the dispute as non-justiciable.
The court further ruled that Abejide failed to prove that his legal rights were violated by the emergence of the Mark-led leadership and noted that he did not exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
Justice Liman also held that the emergence of David Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary complied with the ADC constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
According to the judgment, the July 2, 2025 stakeholders’ meeting, where Ralph Nwosu handed over the party’s leadership to Mark, was a lawful precursor to the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of July 29, 2025, which formally ratified the new leadership under the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice Liman also imposed financial penalties on the plaintiff and his counsel. Abejide was ordered to pay ₦2 million each to the defendants as costs, while his lawyer was directed to pay ₦10 million under the provisions of the Electoral Act, bringing the total financial penalty to ₦20 million.
Abejide had asked the court to nullify the transfer of the party’s leadership from Nwosu to Mark and Aregbesola, arguing that the process violated the Electoral Act and seeking an order restraining INEC from recognising the new leadership. However, the court dismissed all his claims.
