Tension as court adjourns ruling in suit seeking to remove David Mark, Aregbesola as ADC Leaders

The Federal High Court in Abuja has shifted judgment in a suit seeking to stop Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from parading themselves as interim National Chairman and Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to April 14.

The ruling, initially scheduled for Monday, was postponed by Justice Musa Suleiman Liman by 24 hours due to other official engagements.

A court registrar announced the adjournment to journalists and political supporters who had gathered at the court premises as early as 8 a.m. The crowd gradually dispersed following the announcement.

The suit was filed by Hon. Leke Abejide, a member of the House of Representatives from Kogi State, through his counsel, Ibrahim Idris, SAN. Judgment had earlier been fixed for April 13 after parties adopted their processes and presented arguments.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, filed on February 15, 2026, Abejide listed the ADC, its former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants.

Abejide is challenging the legality of the July 2, 2025 handover of party leadership by Nwosu to Mark and Aregbesola at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja. He is seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that the transfer of leadership was unlawful, null, and void, as well as an order restraining both men from acting as party leaders.

He also asked the court to bar INEC from recognising them, arguing that their emergence did not comply with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.

However, the defendants—represented by separate counsel including Shaibu Aruwa, SAN; P. I. Oyewole; Rilwan Okpanachi; I. R. Abdullahi; and Anthony Onyeri for INEC—urged the court to dismiss the suit.

They argued that Abejide lacks the legal standing to institute the case and maintained that the matter concerns the internal affairs of a political party, which is not justiciable. They further contended that the leadership in question emerged from a National Executive Committee meeting held on July 29, 2025, not July 2 as claimed.

The defendants also described the suit as lacking merit and urged the court to dismiss it with substantial costs, insisting the case is academic.

The court is expected to deliver its judgment on April 14.