Court Sets April 14 for ADC Crisis Hearing
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled April 14 for the hearing of a suit challenging the leadership of the African Democratic Congress under former Senate President David Mark and ex-Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, was filed by Nafiu-Bala Gombe, a former deputy national chairman of the party, against the ADC, Mark, Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission, and Chief Ralph Nwosu as first to fifth defendants respectively.
Court records show that Justice Nwite had previously adjourned the matter sine die pending the outcome of an appeal filed against a lower court order. However, the Court of Appeal, in a judgment delivered on March 12, directed the parties to return to the trial court and maintain the status quo ante bellum until the substantive suit is heard and determined.
Following the appellate ruling, INEC on April 1 removed the names of Mark and Aregbesola from its official portal as national chairman and national secretary of the ADC. In response, the Mark-led leadership, through a motion on notice filed on April 7 by Sulaiman Usman, SAN, has urged the court to order the commission to restore their names to the position they occupied prior to the institution of the suit.
In a preliminary objection also filed on April 7, Mark argued that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the matter. He contended that Gombe lacks the locus standi to institute the action, having voluntarily resigned his position as deputy national chairman of the party. “The suit is predicated on falsehood and suppression of material facts, particularly concerning the plaintiff’s resignation,” Mark stated, adding that issues bordering on the internal affairs of a political party are non-justiciable.
Aregbesola, in a consequential counter-affidavit deposed to by Anthonia Nwafor of M.E. Sheriff & Co, aligned with this position. He maintained that Gombe is no longer a member of the party’s National Executive Committee following his resignation, which was communicated to INEC in compliance with the party’s rules. Aregbesola further sought an award of N50 million as costs for being “discommoded by defending the suit.”
Chief Ralph Nwosu, the fifth defendant, through his lawyer P. I. Oyewole, also filed a preliminary objection on April 7. He argued that the suit is premature, submitting that Gombe failed to exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
The April 14 hearing is expected to address the pending applications and determine the course of the substantive suit.