Coalition: Aggrieved ADC Members Drag Mark, Aregbesola to Court

Three aggrieved members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have dragged the party’s interim leadership to court.

The plaintiffs Adeyemi Emmanuel, Ayodeji Victor Tolu, and Haruna Ismail, filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

They are asking the court to sack Senator David Mark, ex-Governor Rauf Aregbesola, and former Minister Bolaji Abdullahi from office.

The plaintiffs argue that the ADC’s appointment of the interim leaders violates the party’s 2018 constitution.

They also asked the court to rule on whether the handover of the party structure breached a subsisting court judgment.

Specifically, they referenced a 2022 judgment by Justice Binta Nyako which they claim the new leadership violated.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1328, also seeks to void all appointments made outside ADC’s constitutional guidelines.

They questioned the legality of creating interim positions like “Interim Chairman” and “Interim Secretary” in an already existing party.

According to them, the ADC constitution provides no room for such transitional leadership roles.

They also challenged the membership status of the new appointees, alleging they were not registered ADC members.

The plaintiffs argue that only a National Convention or NEC decision can dissolve or reconstitute the party’s leadership.

They said any other method, including mergers or backdoor handovers, is unconstitutional and invalid.

They want the court to declare the appointments “null, void, and of no effect.”

Senator David Mark is the 4th Defendant in the suit, Rauf Aregbesola is the 5th, and Bolaji Abdullahi is the 6th.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is the 1st Defendant in the matter.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is joined as the 2nd Defendant.

Raph Nwosu, the party’s immediate past National Chairman, is listed as the 3rd Defendant.

The plaintiffs want the court to restrain INEC from recognizing the interim leadership as legitimate.

They insist that any leadership change must follow constitutional processes laid out in the ADC framework.

As of now, no hearing date has been fixed for the case.

This legal action deepens the internal crisis within ADC amid growing political tensions ahead of 2027 elections.

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