A fresh twist has emerged in the leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the party’s National Secretary, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, formally requested Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to withdraw from a suit challenging the legitimacy of the party’s current leadership.
The application, filed barely 24 hours before the scheduled hearing of the case, is anchored on what Aregbesola described as a loss of confidence in the ability of the court to fairly adjudicate the matter.
The suit was instituted by Mr. Nafiu-Bala Gombe, a former National Deputy Chairman of the ADC, who is seeking to stop former Senate President, David Mark, Aregbesola and members of the party’s interim National Working Committee (NWC) from parading themselves as the authentic leaders of the party.
Justice Lifu recently took over the matter after it was reassigned by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, following the elevation of the former trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, to the Court of Appeal.
In a motion dated June 1 and filed on June 2 through his counsel, Mohammed Sheriff, Aregbesola urged Justice Lifu to recuse himself from the proceedings and return the case file to the Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge.
The ADC national secretary argued that the Constitution guarantees litigants the right to have their cases heard by an independent and impartial court, adding that certain developments had created a reasonable apprehension that justice might not be seen to be done in the current proceedings.
According to him, his concerns stem from the judge’s handling of another suit involving the ADC, identified as Suit No. ABJ/CS/2637/2026, between the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in which the ADC was listed as a defendant.
Aregbesola alleged that the court made a series of rulings in that matter which, in his view, departed from established legal principles and were adverse to the interests of both himself and the party.
Among other complaints, he argued that the court ordered accelerated hearing in a matter that was neither a pre-election case nor one requiring urgent determination. He further claimed that the court declined applications seeking a stay of proceedings despite being informed that an appeal had already been entered before the Court of Appeal.
According to the application, counsel to the appellant later informed the appellate court of the refusal to halt proceedings, prompting the Court of Appeal to grant an order staying further action in the matter.
Aregbesola maintained that these developments had eroded his confidence in the court and could create the perception of bias among reasonable observers.
“The applicant has no confidence in this court to administer justice in these proceedings. It is in the interest of justice that the matter be heard by another judge,” he argued.
The application is expected to be considered when the matter comes up for hearing on Wednesday.
At the heart of the dispute is Gombe’s challenge to the emergence of David Mark as National Chairman and Aregbesola as National Secretary of the ADC. The plaintiff contends that their emergence, alongside that of other members of the interim National Working Committee, violated provisions of the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, lists the ADC, David Mark, Aregbesola, INEC and former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu as defendants.
The legal battle comes amid deepening divisions within the ADC following the party’s presidential primaries. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged as the party’s presidential candidate after defeating former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi and businessman, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, at the party’s national convention on May 27.
However, another faction of the party subsequently conducted a separate convention and produced Dumebi Kachikwu, the ADC’s 2023 presidential candidate, as its standard-bearer for the 2027 general election, further intensifying the leadership and legitimacy dispute within the opposition party.