The leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under former Senate President David Mark received a major legal boost on Thursday after a Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide challenging the party’s leadership.
Justice Musa Liman held that the suit lacked merit and affirmed the emergence of Mark as the party’s National Chairman and former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary, ruling that their appointments complied with the ADC Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2026.
The court upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, its former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, Mark and Aregbesola, holding that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter because it bordered on the internal affairs of a political party.
Justice Liman further ruled that Abejide lacked the legal standing to institute the action because he failed to establish that his rights had been violated by the emergence of the current leadership. The judge also held that the lawmaker did not exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism before approaching the court.
In resolving the substantive issues, the court ruled in favour of the defendants, declaring that the transfer of leadership by Nwosu did not violate the ADC Constitution.
According to the judgment, the July 2, 2025 stakeholders’ meeting, where Nwosu handed over the party’s leadership, preceded the National Executive Committee meeting of July 29, 2025, which formally produced Mark and Aregbesola as National Chairman and National Secretary under the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice Liman held that the process complied with both the ADC Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2026, thereby affirming the legality of the party’s current leadership.
The court also awarded costs of N2 million each in favour of the defendants against Abejide. In addition, Abejide’s counsel was ordered to pay N10 million as costs pursuant to the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Abejide had filed the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, on February 15, against the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola and INEC, seeking to nullify the July 2, 2025 handover of the party’s leadership.
He had asked the court to restrain Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary and to prevent INEC from recognising them as the party’s leaders, arguing that their emergence was inconsistent with the party’s constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
However, the court dismissed the suit in its entirety, effectively bringing to an end the legal challenge against the leadership of Mark and Aregbesola.