•Court Refused Ex-Parte Application, Orders Parties to Appear
•Warns Against Fake News, Destabilisation Attempts
By Franklin Adole
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) yesterday clarified reports suggesting that the Federal High Court in Abuja had granted an injunction restraining Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from acting as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively.
In a statement issued in Abuja, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, explained that contrary to misleading media publications, no such order was granted by the court. Instead, he said, Justice Emeka Nwite refused an ex-parte motion filed by Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe and directed that the case proceed through due process.
Abdullahi outlined the four specific orders made by the court on September 4:
1.That the Plaintiff/Applicant’s motion filed on September 2 was refused.
2.That the Plaintiff/Applicant must put the Defendants on notice.
3.That the Defendants should appear before the Court to show cause why the application should not be granted.
4.That the matter is adjourned to September 15, 2025, for the Defendants to show cause.
“These were the only orders made by the Honourable Court, duly signed by Justice Nwite and certified by the Registrar, Kasope Kafayat Bola,” Abdullahi said.
He accused political opponents of deliberately twisting the ruling after failing to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Mark and Aregbesola as ADC leaders. “This shows the desperation of political jobbers who will stop at nothing, including misrepresenting court judgments, to destabilise our party and undermine the opposition,” Abdullahi added.
The ADC spokesman urged the media and the public to be vigilant and resist fake news aimed at sowing confusion. “The leadership of the ADC is firmly in place, and our members and Nigerians at large should ignore falsehoods being circulated by agents of destabilisation,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, ADC National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola declared that members of the party would not succumb to threats or intimidation, despite reported attacks on its supporters in Kaduna, Lagos, and Ondo States. Speaking in Abuja, Aregbesola said: “It is only cowards who entertain fear. Our members are seasoned political actors, not greenhorns, and nobody can intimidate us.”
This followed Wednesday’s incident in Akure, where suspected thugs invaded an ADC ward meeting, leaving three members hospitalised. The Ondo State Chairman, Asiwaju Wole Ademoyegun, described the incident as a “calculated act of political intimidation.”
On the party’s performance in the August 16 bye-elections, Abdullahi reiterated that the outcome should not be seen as a true reflection of ADC’s strength. “Those elections happened less than a month after we assumed leadership of the party. We were still in transition, and many of the candidates were unknown to us. It would be unfair to judge ADC by that outcome. There are more elections ahead, and we will be ready,” he said during a Channels Television programme.
The elections saw the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) secure 12 of the 16 seats contested across nine states, while APGA won two seats, PDP one, and NNPP one. The ADC did not win any seat.