Court nullifies David Mark-led ADC leadership, Atiku’s 2027 presidential ticket

The Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by former Senate President David Mark, invalidating all decisions taken by the party under the caretaker committee, including the presidential primary that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its candidate for the 2027 general elections.

The judgment, delivered on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu, also affected the emergence of former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, as the party’s National Secretary, the appointments of other national officers and the nomination of candidates for various elective positions.

The court held that the Mark-led caretaker committee lacked the legal authority to administer the affairs of the party, having emerged through a process that violated the ADC constitution, relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution.

Justice Lifu consequently directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognise or act on decisions taken at the party’s 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on July 27, 2025.

The ruling followed a suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, instituted by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC for the North-East, who challenged the process through which Mark and other members of the caretaker committee assumed control of the party.

Gombe had argued that following the resignation of the party’s former National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu, he was constitutionally entitled to take over the leadership as the next-ranking national officer.

He maintained that the emergence of Mark, Aregbesola and other members of the caretaker committee violated the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act, which prescribe procedures for the emergence of national officers through duly conducted conventions.

He consequently approached the court seeking, among other reliefs, an order restraining Mark, Aregbesola and other members of the caretaker committee from parading themselves as legitimate leaders of the party, as well as the nullifica tion of all decisions taken under their leadership.

The ADC, INEC, Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu were listed as defendants in the suit.

In the course of the proceedings, Mark, Aregbesola, the ADC and other interested parties filed several applications challenging the suit and seeking to have it dismissed at the preliminary stage.

However, Justice Lifu dismissed 27 separate motions, describing them as frivolous and baseless. He also rejected applications by some members of the National Working Committee seeking to be joined as defendants, holding that their interests would be determined through the proceedings involving the existing parties.

Dispute over Gombe’s alleged resignation

The leadership crisis dates back to July 2025, when Nwosu and other members of the ADC’s former National Working Committee stepped down, paving the way for the emergence of a new leadership structure headed by Mark.

The development followed a coalition arrangement involving prominent opposition politicians, including Atiku, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, who adopted the ADC as their political platform ahead of the 2027 elections.

Mark emerged as interim National Chairman, while Aregbesola became National Secretary, following the party’s leadership transition and subsequent NEC meeting.

However, Gombe opposed the arrangement, insisting that he had neither resigned his position as Deputy National Chairman nor relinquished his right to succeed Nwosu in accordance with the party’s constitution.

The dispute was further complicated by claims that Gombe had resigned his position on May 17, 2025.

The Mark-led faction maintained that his resignation had been formally accepted by the party’s National Working Committee and communicated to INEC on August 12, 2025, thereby undermining his claim to the party’s leadership.

Gombe, however, denied authoring the resignation letter, describing it as false and forged, and maintained that he remained the legitimate successor to Nwosu.

His challenge eventually resulted in the present suit, which sought judicial determination of the legality of the leadership arrangement.

Previous court rulings

The latest judgment comes against the backdrop of earlier judicial proceedings and conflicting claims over the legitimacy of the Mark-led leadership.

In September 2025, Gombe approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, seeking to restrain Mark and other members of the caretaker committee from parading themselves as national officers of the ADC.

On September 4, 2025, Justice Nwite directed that the defendants, including INEC, be put on notice to show cause why the interim orders sought by Gombe should not be granted.

Dissatisfied with the proceedings, Mark challenged the jurisdiction of the trial court at the Court of Appeal.

On March 12, 2026, the appellate court dismissed his appeal as incompetent and unmeritorious and directed the parties to return to the trial court for an accelerated hearing. It also ordered them to maintain the status quo ante bellum pending the determination of the substantive suit.

Following the appellate court’s decision, INEC, on April 1, 2026, announced that it would no longer recognise either the Mark-led or Gombe-led faction of the ADC pending the determination of the leadership dispute.

However, the Supreme Court, on April 30, 2026, set aside the Court of Appeal’s status quo ante bellum order, holding that the appellate court ought not to have made such a preservative order in a matter still pending before the trial court.

The apex court consequently directed the parties to return to the Federal High Court for an expeditious determination of the substantive dispute.

Meanwhile, another Federal High Court judgment delivered by Justice Musa Liman on July 2, 2026, had earlier upheld the Mark-led leadership in a separate suit instituted by a member of the House of Representatives, Leke Abejide.

In Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, Abejide had challenged the transfer of leadership from Nwosu to Mark, seeking to nullify the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola as National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively.

Justice Liman dismissed the suit, holding that the dispute concerned the internal affairs of the political party and was non-justiciable. He also ruled that Abejide lacked the legal standing to institute the action and had failed to exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism.

The judge further held that the leadership transition complied with the ADC constitution, noting that the July 2, 2025 stakeholders’ meeting at which Nwosu handed over the party’s leadership preceded the July 29, 2025 NEC meeting that formally produced Mark and Aregbesola as national officers.

The ruling was subsequently welcomed by the Mark-led faction, which described it as judicial affirmation of its legitimacy.

ADC rejects latest judgment, vows appeal

Reacting to Thursday’s judgment, the ADC rejected the decision, describing it as legally indefensible and announcing plans to challenge it through available judicial processes.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, argued that the latest ruling disregarded the earlier judgment delivered by Justice Liman on July 2, 2026, which, according to the ADC, affirmed the legitimacy of the Mark-led National Working Committee and directed INEC to recognise it.

The party maintained that a court of coordinate jurisdiction could not sit on appeal over, review, vary or nullify the subsisting judgment of another court of equal jurisdiction.

It also questioned the timing of Justice Lifu’s judgment, alleging that its delivery barely a day after Atiku’s campaign launch in Sokoto was intended to frustrate the opposition party’s growing political activities ahead of the 2027 elections.

The ADC Presidential Campaign Council similarly faulted the decision, describing it as an academic exercise that had been overtaken by events.

The council maintained that the earlier judgment by Justice Liman had already examined the circumstances surrounding the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola and upheld the legality of the leadership transition.

It said its legal team was taking steps to challenge the latest ruling, including seeking appropriate interim reliefs and a stay of execution where applicable.

The party, however, disclosed that it was awaiting the Certified True Copy of Justice Lifu’s judgment to ascertain its precise terms, scope and consequential orders.

Meanwhile, Gombe welcomed the judgment, describing it as an independent and impartial determination of the leadership dispute based on constitutional and statutory provisions rather than political considerations.

He maintained that political parties were bound by their constitutions and the Electoral Act and could not disregard established procedures in determining their leadership structures.

The ruling has consequently introduced fresh uncertainty into the ADC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, particularly the status of Atiku’s presidential nomination and other candidates produced under the Mark-led leadership.