- Agency Report
The Federal High Court in Abuja is set to deliver judgement in a suit filed by Kogi State lawmaker, Leke Abejide, against the David Mark-led faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Abejide is seeking an order restraining Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola from parading themselves as African Democratic Congress (ADC)’s national chairman and national secretary respectively.
Justice Musa Liman, at the hearing of the suit on Friday, fixed April 13 for the judgement over the suit after Abejide’s counsel, Ibrahim Idris (SAN) and lawyers to the defence adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the suit.
In the originating summons, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025 filed on Feb. 15, 2026 by Idris, the lawmaker sued ADC, Ralph Nwosu, Mark, Aregbesola and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.
Recall that Nwosu was the former national chairman of ADC who stepped down for Mark, the ex-Senate president.
Abejide, among the eight reliefs, sought an order nullifying Nwosu’s handover or transfer of ADC’s leadership to Mark and Aregbesola as interim national chairman and intenm national secretary respectively on July 2, 2025, at Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja for being illegal, unlawful, null and void.
He sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as leaders of the party “as thelr purported appointment, selection or election was unlawful, illegal, null and void.”
He also sought perpetual injunction, restraining INEC from recognising Mark and Aregbesola as ADC’s interim national chairman and interim national secretary “as their appomtment. selection or election did not meet the requirements of Section 82 of the Electoral Act, 2022,” among other prayers.
The ADC, represented by Shaibu Aruwa, SAN; Nwosu, represented by P. I. Oyewole; Rilwan Okpanachi who appeared for Mark; Aregbesola’s lawyer, I. R. Abdullahi, and counsel who appeared for INEC, Anthony Onyeri, all prayed the court to dismiss the suit for lacking in merit.
ADC, Nwosu, Mark and Aregbesola, in their arguments, submitted that Abejide lacked the legal right to institute the suit.
In their separate preliminary objections, they argued that the subject matter of the suit borders on the internal affairs of a political party which is non-justiciable.
They added that the court lacked the jurisdiction to delve into such matters.
The defendants also stated that contrary to Abejide’s submission, the Mark-led leadership was elected on July 29, 2025, at the National Executive Committee meeting of the party, and not July 2, 2025.
They stated that Abejide had not demonstrated any reasonable cause why the suit should be filed.
The defendants, who urged the court to dismiss the suit with subtantial cost in line with Section 83(5) of the Electiral Act, 2026, argued that the matter is academic.
Also in his argument, Onyeri, who appeared for INEC, prayed the court to dimiss the suit.
He said the commission, in its argument, filed an eight-paragraph counter affidavit with an exhibit marked, Exhibit INEC-1.