A Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked the Senator David Mark-led executives of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and invalidated all actions they took on behalf of the party.
The actions include the nomination of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu, the court declared as illegal the Senator Mark-led Caretaker Committee of the ADC, which organised the primary election that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential flag bearer.
The court found merit in a suit brought before it by the aggrieved former National Deputy Chairman (North-East) of the party, Nafiu Bala Gombe.
Gombe had approached the court to challenge the process through which the Senator Mark-led Committee took over the leadership of the party.
He maintained that, following the resignation of the former National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu, he (Gombe) was qualified to assume the leadership of the party.
Consequently, he prayed the court, among other things, to nullify all actions taken on behalf of the party by the Senator Mark-led leadership.
Listed as defendants in the suit are the ADC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Senator David Mark, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Chief Ralph Nwosu.
With the judgment, the primary election that produced Atiku Abubakar as the ADC presidential candidate stands voided, pending any appeal by the affected parties.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the ADC leadership nor Atiku Abubakar had issued an official reaction to the judgment.
