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 a member of the House of Representatives, Leke Abejide, challenging the party’s leadership structure.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman held that the suit lacked merit and was not justiciable, ruling that the issues raised by the plaintiff bordered on the internal affairs of a political party, which are generally outside the jurisdiction of the courts.
The court upheld the preliminary objections filed by the ADC, its former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, the incumbent National Chairman, David Mark, and the party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola.
Justice Liman ruled that Abejide failed to establish that any of his legal rights had been violated by the emergence of the current leadership of the party.
The judge further held that the lawmaker did not exhaust the ADC’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
According to the court, matters relating to the administration and leadership of political parties remain internal affairs, except where there is clear evidence of a breach of the law or infringement of a member’s legal rights.
On the substantive issues, Justice Liman ruled in favour of the defendants, holding that the leadership transition from Nwosu to Mark did not violate either the ADC Constitution or the Electoral Act.
The court also found that the stakeholders’ meeting held on July 2, 2025, which preceded the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of July 29, 2025, formed part of the lawful process that produced David Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary of the party.
Justice Liman noted that the NEC meeting was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission, thereby lending credibility and legitimacy to the process.
He consequently declared that the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola complied with the provisions of both the ADC Constitution and the Electoral Act.
In addition, the court awarded ₦10 million costs against Abejide’s counsel in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
Abejide had instituted the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, on February 15, seeking to nullify the transfer of the party’s leadership from Nwosu to Mark and Aregbesola, which he described as unlawful.
The lawmaker joined the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola and INEC as defendants in the suit.
Among the reliefs sought, Abejide asked the court to invalidate the July 2, 2025, leadership handover ceremony held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, arguing that the appointments of Mark and Aregbesola were inconsistent with the Electoral Act.
He also sought orders restraining both party leaders from functioning in their respective capacities and urged the court to stop INEC from recognising them as the ADC’s National Chairman and National Secretary.
However, Justice Liman dismissed all the claims and affirmed the legitimacy of the current leadership of the African Democratic Congress.
The ruling is seen as a significant victory for the opposition party, which has undergone leadership restructuring amid efforts by opposition politicians to strengthen its platform ahead of the 2027 general elections.
David Mark emerged as the ADC National Chairman, while Aregbesola assumed the position of National Secretary as part of the party’s reorganisation, a move that has generated considerable political interest and legal challenges from some members.
