The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) headed by former Senate President David Mark, dismissing a suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide challenging the party’s leadership structure.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman struck out the suit for lacking merit and upheld the preliminary objections filed by the ADC, its former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, David Mark and the party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola.
The court held that the dispute centered on the internal affairs of a political party, a matter over which it lacked jurisdiction. Justice Liman also ruled that Abejide failed to establish the legal standing required to institute the action, having not demonstrated that his rights were infringed by the emergence of the current leadership.
Abejide had asked the court to nullify the July 2025 handover of the party’s leadership by former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu to David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola. He also sought orders restraining the duo from parading themselves as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary and preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising them in those capacities.
In its ruling, the court held that the stakeholders’ meeting of July 2, 2025, merely preceded the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on July 29, 2025, where Mark and Aregbesola formally emerged as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary in a process monitored by INEC.
Justice Liman further ruled that the emergence of the Mark-led leadership complied with the ADC Constitution and the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, dismissing claims that the process violated the party’s rules.
The court resolved all the issues raised by the plaintiff in favour of the defendants and awarded costs of ₦2 million each against Abejide in favour of the defendants. It also ordered Abejide’s counsel to pay an additional ₦10 million in costs in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The judgment marks another legal victory for the David Mark-led leadership of the ADC, which has faced a series of court challenges since assuming control of the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
