The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under former Senate President David Mark, dismissing a suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide challenging the party’s leadership transition.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman ruled that the case lacked merit, holding that it concerned the internal affairs of a political party and was therefore not justiciable.
The court upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, its former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, the current National Chairman David Mark and the National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola.
Justice Liman held that Abejide failed to show that any of his legal rights had been violated by the emergence of the current leadership. He also ruled that the lawmaker did not first explore the party’s internal dispute resolution process before approaching the court.
The judge reiterated that courts generally do not interfere in the internal administration of political parties unless there is a clear breach of the law or a violation of a member’s legal rights.
On the substantive issues, the court found that the leadership transition from Nwosu to Mark complied with both the ADC Constitution and the Electoral Act.
Justice Liman further held that the stakeholders’ meeting held on July 2, 2025, and the National Executive Committee meeting of July 29, 2025, formed part of the lawful process that produced David Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary.
He noted that the NEC meeting was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), describing this as further evidence that the process was conducted in line with legal requirements.
The court consequently declared that the appointments of Mark and Aregbesola were valid.
As part of the judgment, Justice Liman ordered Abejide to pay ₦2 million in costs to each of the defendants.
He also awarded ₦10 million in costs against the lawmaker’s counsel in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
Abejide had filed the suit in February, asking the court to nullify the transfer of the party’s leadership from Ralph Nwosu to David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola.
He argued that the process violated both the ADC Constitution and the Electoral Act.
He also sought orders restraining Mark and Aregbesola from acting in their respective positions and asked the court to prevent INEC from recognising them as the party’s national officers.
However, the court dismissed all the claims, effectively affirming the legitimacy of the current leadership of the African Democratic Congress.
The ruling brings to an end one of the legal challenges arising from the ADC’s leadership transition, which followed efforts by opposition figures to reposition the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
