The Federal High Court, Abuja Division, on Thursday affirmed the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress.

Justice Musa Liman, in a judgement, also dismissed the suit filed by Leke Abejide challenging Mr Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as national chairman and national secretary of the party for lacking merit.

Mr Liman upheld the preliminary objections filed by ADC, Ralph Nwosu, Messrs Mark and Aregbesola, which challenged Mr Abejide’s suit.

The judge held that the court lacked the jurisdiction to delve into the internal affairs of ADC, as the suit was non-justiciable.

He also held that Mr Abejide lacked the legal right to have instituted the suit, having failed to show the court that his rights had been violated in any way as a result of the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.

He equally held that Mr Abejide, who is a member of the House of Representatives, failed to explore the party’s internal mechanism for dispute resolution.

Mr Liman also resolved the three issues in the substantive suit in the defendants’ favour.

On whether Mr Mark, the former Senate president, and Mr Aregbesola, the former governor of Osun, emerged as leaders of the party in compliance with the enabling laws, the judge resolved this against Mr Abejide, the plaintiff in the suit.

He held that the handing over of the party’s leadership by Mr Nwosu to Mr Mark did not violate the provisions of the party’s constitution.

The judge agreed that the disputed July 2, 2025, party meeting was a stakeholder meeting that preceded the party’s National Executive Council meeting held on July 29, 2025, which produced Messrs Mark and Aregbesola as the party’s leaders and was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Mr Liman, therefore, declared that the emergence of Messrs Mark and Aregbesola as leaders of the ADC was valid and in accordance with the constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026 and the party’s law.

The judge consequently awarded a fine of N2 million each in favour of all the defendants, payable by Mr Abejide. He also awarded a N10 million fine against Mr Abejide’s lawyer in compliance with the Electoral Act, 2026.

Mr Abejide had instituted the suit to stop the Mark-led leadership of the ADC. In the originating summons, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025 and filed on February 15 by Mr Idris, the lawmaker sued ADC, Messrs Nwosu, Mark, Aregbesola and INEC as the first to fifth defendants, respectively.

Mr Nwosu was the former national chairman of ADC who stepped down for Mr Mark, the ex-Senate president.

Mr Abejide, among the eight reliefs, sought an order nullifying Mr Nwosu’s handover or transfer of ADC’s leadership to Messrs Mark and Aregbesola as interim national chairman and interim national secretary, respectively, on July 2, 2025, at Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja, for being illegal, unlawful, null and void.

He sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as leaders of the party “as their purported appointment, selection or election was unlawful, illegal, null and void.”

He also sought a perpetual injunction, restraining INEC from recognising Messrs Mark and Aregbesola as ADC’s interim national chairman and interim national secretary.

He alleged that their appointment, selection or election did not meet the requirements of Section 82 of the Electoral Act, 2022, among other prayers.

(NAN)