The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under former Senate President , dismissing a lawsuit filed by lawmaker challenging the party’s leadership structure.
Delivering judgment 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, , the party’s current National Chairman, David Mark, and National Secretary, .
Justice Liman held that Abejide failed to prove that any of his legal rights had been violated by the emergence of the current leadership. He also noted that the lawmaker did not first exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution procedures before taking the matter to court.
According to the judge, disputes relating to the internal administration and leadership of political parties generally fall outside the jurisdiction of the courts unless there is evidence of a breach of the law or infringement of a member’s legal rights.
On the substantive issues, the court found that the transition of the party’s leadership from Ralph Nwosu to David Mark complied with both the ADC Constitution and the Electoral Act.
Justice Liman further ruled that the stakeholders’ meeting held on July 2, 2025, followed by the party’s National Executive Committee meeting on July 29, 2025, formed part of the lawful process that produced David Mark as National Chairman and Aregbesola as National Secretary.
The court also noted that the NEC meeting was monitored by the , reinforcing the credibility of the leadership transition.
Consequently, the judge declared that the appointments of Mark and Aregbesola were valid and in full compliance with the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
As part of the judgment, the court ordered Abejide to pay ₦2 million in litigation costs to each of the defendants. It also awarded ₦10 million against his counsel in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
Abejide had instituted the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, on February 15, seeking to nullify the transfer of the party’s leadership from Nwosu to Mark and Aregbesola, arguing that the process violated the Electoral Act.
He also asked the court to invalidate the July 2, 2025, handover ceremony held at the , restrain Mark and Aregbesola from acting in their respective offices, and stop INEC from recognising them as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary.
However, Justice Liman dismissed all the reliefs sought by the lawmaker, effectively affirming the legitimacy of the current leadership of the African Democratic Congress.
The ruling comes amid ongoing efforts by opposition politicians to reposition the ADC ahead of the 2027 general elections, with David Mark and Aregbesola’s emergence as the party’s national leaders drawing significant political attention as well as legal challenges.
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