The Federal High Court in Abuja has delivered a fresh judgment on the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), affirming the emergence of former Senate President David Mark as National Chairman and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary of the party.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman dismissed a suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide, who had challenged the legality of the leadership transition that produced Mark and Aregbesola.
The court upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, its former National Chairman Chief Ralph Nwosu, Mark and Aregbesola, ruling that the dispute bordered on the internal affairs of the party and was therefore not justiciable.
Justice Liman further held that Abejide lacked the legal standing to institute the suit, having failed to establish that his rights had been infringed by the emergence of the new leadership. The judge also ruled that the lawmaker did not exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before heading to court.
On the substantive issues, the court resolved all the questions in favour of the defendants, holding that the process that produced Mark and Aregbesola complied with the ADC Constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026, and other applicable laws.
The judge also ruled that former National Chairman Chief Ralph Nwosu acted within the provisions of the party’s constitution when he handed over the party’s leadership to Mark.
Justice Liman agreed that the July 2, 2025 stakeholders’ meeting, where the leadership transition commenced, validly preceded the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of July 29, 2025, which formally produced Mark and Aregbesola as the party’s leaders under the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“The emergence of David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as leaders of the ADC is valid and in accordance with the party’s constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026, and the party’s laws,” the court held.
The court consequently awarded ₦2 million each against Abejide in favour of all the defendants, while also imposing ₦10 million costs on the lawmaker’s counsel in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Abejide had instituted the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, on February 15, 2026, seeking to nullify the transfer of the party’s leadership from Nwosu to Mark and Aregbesola during a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, on July 2, 2025.
He had also asked the court to restrain Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, and to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising them.
With Thursday’s judgment, the Federal High Court has reaffirmed the legitimacy of the current ADC leadership, bringing another legal challenge against the party’s national executives to an end.
