Court Affirms David Mark-Led ADC Leadership, Fines Leke Abejide, Counsel N20m

The Federal High Court in Abuja has upheld the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) headed by former Senate President David Mark.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman dismissed a lawsuit filed by Leke Abejide, a member of the House of Representatives, who challenged the appointment of David Mark as the party’s national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary.

The suit named Mark, Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the ADC and the party’s former national chairman, Ralph Nwosu, as defendants.

Abejide had asked the court to declare the transfer of the party’s leadership from Nwosu to Mark and Aregbesola, which took place on July 2, 2025, in Abuja, as illegal and unconstitutional. He also sought an order preventing the two men from acting as leaders of the party.

However, Justice Liman agreed with the preliminary objections raised by the defendants and ruled that the court could not interfere in the internal affairs of a political party.

The judge also held that Abejide had no legal standing to file the case because he failed to prove that his rights had been violated by the leadership change.

According to the court, the handover carried out by Nwosu complied with the ADC constitution and did not breach any provision of the Electoral Act, 2026.

The court therefore affirmed that the appointments of Mark and Aregbesola were lawful.

Justice Liman ordered Abejide to pay N2 million in costs to each of the defendants.

The court also imposed a separate N10 million cost against his lawyer.

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