…Says verdict restores faith in rule of law
…Appeal Court to rule on deregistration next week
By Chike Ofili
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) recorded a major legal victory on Thursday after the Federal High Court in Abuja affirmed the legitimacy of the party’s leadership under former Senate President David Mark and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, prompting former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to declare that the judgement signalled “a new dawn” for Nigeria’s judiciary.
Delivering judgement, Justice Musa Liman dismissed a suit filed by Rep. Leke Abejide challenging the emergence of Mark as National Chairman and Aregbesola as National Secretary of the ADC, holding that the matter was an internal party affair over which the court lacked jurisdiction.
The court further ruled that Abejide lacked the legal standing to institute the action, having failed to demonstrate that his rights were violated or to exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
Justice Liman also upheld the validity of the July 2025 stakeholders’ meeting and the subsequent National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting that produced the current leadership, declaring that the process complied with the party’s constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026 and other extant laws.
The court awarded costs of N2 million each against Abejide in favour of the defendants and imposed an additional N10 million penalty on the plaintiff’s counsel.
Reacting to the judgement, Atiku described the ruling as more than a victory for the ADC, saying it represented a significant triumph for constitutional democracy and judicial independence.
In a statement issued by his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President commended Justice Liman for resisting what he described as sustained attempts by political actors to use the judiciary to weaken the opposition.
“The court could not have been clearer,” Atiku said, noting that the judgement reaffirmed the long-established legal principle that internal party disputes must first be resolved through mechanisms provided in party constitutions.
He added that the verdict demonstrated that the judiciary remained “the last hope of the common man” despite growing concerns over political interference.
In a separate reaction conveyed through his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku said Justice Liman’s decision showed that “there are still a few members of the bench who want to do what is legally right and save our democracy.”
He maintained that ongoing efforts to dismantle the ADC through litigation would ultimately fail.
“The deregistration of ADC is a non-starter,” he declared, expressing confidence that the party would also prevail in the pending appeal challenging attempts to remove it from the register of political parties.
The ADC also welcomed the judgement, describing it as another affirmation of the legitimacy of its leadership and a victory for Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the court had reinforced the constitutional principle that leadership disputes remain internal party matters and are therefore non-justiciable.
According to the party, the emergence of the Mark-led leadership complied fully with both the ADC Constitution and applicable Nigerian laws.
The ADC further argued that the judgment should put an end to what it described as needless attempts to destabilise the opposition through frivolous litigation, urging members to remain united as the party focuses on providing Nigerians with a credible political alternative.
Meanwhile, the legal battle over the party’s registration remains before the Court of Appeal.
Although a Federal High Court had earlier ordered the deregistration of the ADC and four other political parties, the Court of Appeal subsequently suspended the execution of that judgment, allowing the parties to remain legally registered pending determination of the substantive appeal.