BREAKING: COURT ADJOURNS JUDGEMENT IN ABEJIDE’S SUIT CHALLENGING ADC LEADERSHIP TO APRIL
By Olayiwola Ibrahim // The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned judgment in a suit filed by Leke Abejide challenging the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to April 27, 2026.
The matter, which was slated for judgment before Justice Musa Liman, could not be delivered as the judge was reportedly engaged in another official assignment.
Abejide, a member of the House of Representatives, is seeking an order restraining former Senate President, David Mark, and former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, from parading themselves as the party’s national chairman and national secretary, respectively.
The court fixed the new date after counsel to the plaintiff, Ibrahim Idris, alongside defence lawyers, adopted their processes and presented arguments for and against the suit.
In the originating summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025 and filed on February 15, Abejide joined the ADC, its former national chairman, Ralph Nwosu, Mark, Aregbesola, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants.
Among the reliefs sought, Abejide is asking the court to nullify the alleged handover of the party’s leadership by Nwosu to Mark and Aregbesola on July 2, 2025, in Abuja, describing it as illegal, unlawful, and void. He also prayed for a perpetual injunction restraining both men from presenting themselves as leaders of the party.
Additionally, the lawmaker is seeking an order barring INEC from recognising Mark and Aregbesola in the said capacities, arguing that their emergence did not comply with the provisions of Section 82 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
However, the defendants, through their respective counsel, urged the court to dismiss the suit for lacking merit. They argued that Abejide lacked the locus standi to institute the case, maintaining that the issues raised pertain to the internal affairs of a political party, which are non-justiciable.
They further contended that, contrary to the plaintiff’s claims, the party’s leadership under Mark emerged from a National Executive Committee meeting held on July 29, 2025, not July 2.
The defendants also described the suit as academic and urged the court to dismiss it with substantial costs in line with relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
Counsel to INEC, Anthony Onyeri, also prayed the court to dismiss the suit, noting that the commission filed an eight-paragraph counter-affidavit supported by documentary evidence.
About Author
