The Federal High Court in Abuja has postponed judgment in a suit seeking to stop Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from parading themselves as the National Chairman and Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The ruling, initially scheduled for Monday, was shifted to April 14 by Justice Musa Suleiman Liman due to other official engagements. The adjournment was announced by the court registrar to lawyers, journalists, and political stakeholders who had gathered at the court as early as 8 a.m.
The case was filed by Hon. Leke Abejide, a member of the House of Representatives from Kogi State, who is challenging the legality of the leadership arrangement within the ADC.
Abejide, through his counsel Ibrahim Idris (SAN), is asking the court to nullify the handover of party leadership by former chairman Ralph Nwosu to David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola. He argues that their emergence as interim national chairman and secretary on July 2, 2025, at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre in Abuja was unlawful.
He is also seeking a perpetual injunction to restrain both men from presenting themselves as party leaders, as well as an order preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising them in those capacities, citing alleged violations of the Electoral Act.
However, the defendants—including the ADC, Nwosu, Mark, Aregbesola, and INEC—have urged the court to dismiss the suit. Their lawyers argue that Abejide lacks the legal standing to institute the case and that the matter concerns the internal affairs of a political party, which they claim is beyond the court’s jurisdiction.
They further contended that the current leadership was duly elected on July 29, 2025, during a National Executive Committee meeting, not on the date cited by the plaintiff. The defence also described the suit as academic and without merit, urging the court to dismiss it with substantial costs.David Mark
Justice Liman had earlier fixed April 13 for judgment after both parties adopted their final arguments. The court is now expected to deliver its ruling on April 14.