The Supreme Court of Nigeria has reserved judgment in the ongoing leadership dispute within the African Democratic Congress (ADC), leaving both sides waiting for a final decision.
The case was brought by the party’s National Chairman, David Mark, who is challenging whether the courts should even be involved in what he argues are purely internal party matters.
A five-member panel of the court, led by Justice Garba Mohammed, announced the decision to reserve judgment after lawyers on both sides presented their arguments.
Mark’s lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), told the court that the issue had already been settled in an earlier ruling back in March 2025.
According to him, the court had clearly stated that it does not have the authority to interfere in the internal affairs of political parties. On that basis, he argued that the lower court should never have entertained the case in the first place.
But the opposing side saw things differently. Counsel to Nafiu Gombe, Robert Emukpero (SAN), urged the court to dismiss Mark’s appeal.
He backed the earlier ruling, which found that Mark’s case was filed too early and should not stand.
That earlier decision came from the Court of Appeal, which threw out Mark’s challenge to the authority of Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The appellate court didn’t just dismiss the appeal it also said it was filed without proper permission and ordered the case to go back to the trial court for a full hearing.
The court also directed all parties to maintain the status quo, meaning no changes should be made to the current leadership arrangement until the matter is resolved.
Following that order, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) withdrew recognition of the leadership aligned with Mark, pending a final ruling on who truly leads the party.
Unhappy with that outcome, Mark took the matter to the Supreme Court, asking it to overturn the appellate court’s decision and halt the enforcement of the status quo order.
Instead of ruling immediately, the apex court asked both sides to submit detailed written arguments. After reviewing and hearing those arguments, Justice Garba Mohammed said the court would deliver its judgment on a date to be announced later.
For now, the leadership question within the ADC remains unresolved and all eyes are on the Supreme Court’s next move.
