Federal High Court Affirms David Mark’s Leadership of ADC, Dismisses Abejide’s Suit

  The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under David Mark, dismissing a suit filed by Leke Abejide challenging the party’s leadership structure. Delivering judgment, Justice Musa Liman held that the suit lacked merit and consequently dismissed all the claims brought before the court. Abejide had challenged the emergence of David Mark as the National Chairman of the ADC and Rauf Aregbesola as the party’s National Secretary, arguing that the transfer of leadership from Ralph Nwosu was unlawful and contrary to the party’s constitution. In his ruling, Justice Liman held that the court lacked jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of the ADC, describing the matter as non-justiciable. The court further ruled that Abejide lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to institute the suit, noting that he failed to demonstrate that his rights had been violated by the emergence of the new leadership. The judge also observed that the plaintiff did not exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism before approaching the court. On the substantive issues, the court ruled in favour of the defendants, holding that the transfer of leadership from Ralph Nwosu to David Mark complied with both the ADC Constitution and the Electoral Act, thereby validating the current leadership structure. As part of the judgment, the court ordered Abejide to pay ₦2 million in litigation costs to each of the defendants. Additionally, the court awarded ₦10 million in costs against Abejide’s legal counsel. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, was filed on February 15, 2025, with Abejide seeking to nullify the transfer of leadership within the ADC. The defendants in the case included the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The judgment is widely regarded as a significant legal victory for the current leadership of the African Democratic Congress, reinforcing the legitimacy of the party’s leadership transition and bringing judicial clarity to the dispute.