*Says APC Desperate To Cripple Opposition
*Vows To Appeal Judgment, Urges Calm
THE African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its presidential candidate in next year’s general elections, Atiku Abubakar, have rejected the judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, sacking the David Mark-led leadership and invalidating Atiku’s candidature.
ADC described the judgment as another desperate attempt by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to cripple the opposition and deny Nigerians the right to choose their leaders in the elections.
Atiku, while rejecting the judgment, which has sent shockwaves and an air of uncertainty into the party and his camp, came as the party and its candidate flagged of their presidential campaign rally in Sokoto State on Wednesday, November 4.
He dismissed the ruling as an attempt to derail “national movement,” saying the timing was telling, coming barely a day after thousands of supporters gathered in Sokoto to welcome him and attended the launch of the party’s presidential campaign.
Justice Lifu, in a ruling on Thursday, November5, sacked the Mark-led executives of ADC and invalidated all actions they took on behalf of the party, including the nomination of Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.
Atiku’s name has been published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with former minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, as his running mate.
However, Justice Lifu declared the primary election that produced Atiku as illegal, holding that the court found merit in a suit brought before it by the party’s aggrieved former national deputy chairman (Northeast), Nafiu Bala Gombe.
Gombe had challenged the process through which Mark and other members of the caretaker committee assumed control of the party, arguing that following the resignation of the party’s former national chairman, Ralph Nwosu, he was entitled to assume its leadership.
He asked the court to nullify decisions taken by the Mark-led leadership and restrain Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from parading themselves as national chairman and national secretary, respectively.
The court upheld his claims, declaring the Mark-led caretaker committee illegal and invalidating its actions, including Atiku’s nomination as the party’s presidential candidate.
In his swift reaction, Atiku, ina statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, condemned the judgment, recalling: “The people of Sokoto came out in their thousands because they are hungry for change and believe in our promise to make life affordable again.
“What we witnessed in Sokoto is only the beginning. The people of Kebbi will have their say, and so will Nigerians across the country as our campaign moves forward.”
Atiku also questioned the legal basis of the judgment, citing an earlier ruling by Justice Musa Liman of the same Federal High Court, which upheld the legitimacy of the Mark-led leadership, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, dismissing the challenge to the party’s leadership on several grounds, including jurisdiction, standing and failure to exhaust internal party remedies.
He stated: “Why, after that judgment, was another case filed to reopen the same dispute? This is a calculated attempt to circumvent a subsisting judgment. We will challenge this judicial manoeuvre at the Court of Appeal.”
Atiku urged ADC supporters to remain calm and law-abiding, insisting that the judgment would not derail the momentum generated in Sokoto, and that the campaign train was already in Kebbi and would continue its activities across the country.
He stated: “Our journey to rescue Nigeria from the hardship imposed by the APC government is a long one. Our Affordable Life campaign will continue because Nigerians deserve relief from this crushing cost-of-living crisis.
“We urge our supporters to remain resolute, take our message from house to house and door to door, and stay peaceful and focused. There is no shaking.”
The ADC, while also rejecting the judgment, described it as an attempt by the ruling APC to cripple the opposition and deny Nigerians the opportunity to choose their leaders in the forthcoming elections.
The party, in a separate statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, questioned the timing of the judgment and linking it to the turnout at Atiku’s Sokoto campaign rally, noting that the ruling was legally indefensible, citing the earlier judgment by Justice Liman.
It stated: “We have reasons to believe that the judgment had long been written on this case. The Sokoto rally was simply a trigger that stampeded its delivery.
“Yesterday, Nigerians came out in their hundreds of thousands to demonstrate their support for the ADC and our promise of making life affordable for them. Today, they are being told that the party that they support and the candidates that they have supported at all levels could be erased by the stroke of a reckless judicial pen.”
Wondering “whether those behind the flawed judgment” had considered its far-reaching implications for the country, the party warned that the attempt to invalidate its leadership could affect thousands of candidates contesting elections at the local, state and federal levels.
It added: “Do these people understand what they are playing with? This is not about Atiku Abubakar or David Mark; it is about the democratic rights of Nigerians to freely choose their own leaders. It is about the rights of thousands of candidates to participate in a democratic process.”
It further stated: “Our objection is particularly anchored on the subsisting judgment of Justice Musa Liman of the same Federal High Court, delivered on 2 July 2026 in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, which affirmed the legitimacy of the David Mark-led NWC and directed INEC to recognise the leadership.
“It is a settled principle of Nigerian jurisprudence that a court of coordinate jurisdiction cannot sit on appeal over, review, vary or nullify the subsisting judgment of another court of equal jurisdiction.
“The ADC, therefore, rejects any consequential orders founded on a determination that appears to disregard these fundamental legal principles.
“However, we await the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the said judgment to ascertain its precise terms, scope and operative orders.”
It accused the APC of allegedly influencing legally indefensible judgments when it is scared of the opposition, noting: “But the millions of Nigerians that are hungry and waiting for them at the ballot box see right through them and will not sit down in silence while our democracy is taken away by the courts.
“We warn the APC: Do not play with fires you cannot control. The peace and stability of Nigeria are bigger than the ambition of any President or political party. Nobody should be so desperate to retain power that they are prepared to put the entire country at risk. This is not the time to play silly games with the stability of this country.
“Nigeria belongs to Nigerians, not to the APC. The presidency is not an inheritance. If the President thinks he has performed well in office, why is he afraid of competition? If the APC thinks that its policies and candidates are popular, why don’t they subject themselves to free and fair elections?”
The party urged the judiciary not to allow itself to be used in foisting a dictatorship on Nigeria, urging its members across the country to remain calm and law-abiding, vowing to challenge the judgment through all available judicial processes.
