A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, July 2, affirmed David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), after dismissing the suit filed by Leke Abejide, a House of Representative man and a former chieftain of the party, in challenging Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as national chairman and national secretary, for lacking in merit.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Justice Musa Liman, in the judgment, upheld the preliminary objections filed by ADC, Ralph Nwosu, Mark and Aregbesola, challenging Abejide’s suit, holding that the court lacked the jurisdiction to dabble into the internal affairs of ADC, as the suit was non-justiciable.
The Judge held that Abejide lacked the legal right to have instituted the suit, having failed to show to the court that his rights had been violated in any way as a result of the emergence of Mark-led leadership.
He also held that Abejide failed to explore the party’s internal mechanism for dispute resolution; hence resolved the three issues in the substantive suit in favour of the defendants.
Justice Liman resolved the issue of whether Mark, a former senate president, and Aregbesola, a former governor of Osun State, emerged as leaders of the party in compliance with the enabling laws, against Abejide, saying Nwosu’s handing over of the leadership of the party to Mark did not violate the provisions of the party’s constitution.
He agreed that the disputed July 2, last year, meeting of the party was a stakeholder meeting preceding the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, held on July 29, monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which produced Mark and Aregbesola as party leaders.
Justice Liman declared that the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola as leaders of the ADC was valid and in accordance with the constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026 and the party’s law.
He consequently awarded a N2million fine each in favour of all the defendants, which shall be paid by Abejide, and a N10million fine against Abejide’s lawyer, in compliance with the Electoral Act, 2026.
Recall that Abejide instituted the suit on February 15, to stop the Mark-led leadership of ADC, in the originating summons, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, listed the party, former national chairman of ADC, Nwosu, who stepped down from the position; Mark; Aregbesola; and INEC as 1st to 5th defendants, respectively.
Abejide, among the eight reliefs, had sought an order nullifying Nwosu’s July 2, last year, handover or transfer of the party’s leadership to Mark and Aregbesola at Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, for being illegal, unlawful, null and void.
He sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as leaders of the party, “as their purported appointment, selection or election was unlawful, illegal, null and void.”
He also sought a perpetual injunction restraining INEC from recognising Mark and Aregbesola as interim national chairman and interim national secretary, respectively, alleging that their appointment, selection or election did not meet the requirements of Section 82 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
