The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved judgment in the protracted leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC), following arguments from all parties involved.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Mohammed Garba, fixed a date for judgment to be communicated after hearing the appeal marked SC/CV/180/2026, filed by former Senate President, David Mark.
Mark, who leads a faction of the party reportedly backed by key opposition figures, is challenging the March 12, 2026 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which he argued was delivered in excess of jurisdiction and against the interest of justice.
At the heart of the dispute is an earlier suit instituted by aggrieved party members led by Nafiu Bala Gombe. The appellate court had ordered parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum, a directive Mark insists was wrongly issued in a matter he described as internal party affairs.
Through his counsel, Mr. Jubril Okutepa, SAN, Mark maintained that disputes relating to party leadership are non-justiciable and fall outside the jurisdiction of the courts, citing previous decisions of the Supreme Court.
The respondents in the appeal include the ADC, its National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the immediate past National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu, and Nafiu Bala Gombe.
Among the reliefs sought, Mark is asking the apex court to restrain INEC from recognising any leadership of the party other than the current national officers under his faction, pending the determination of the appeal. He also prayed the court to halt proceedings in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025 before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Although INEC did not file any process either in support of or against the appeal, other respondents urged the court to dismiss it for lacking merit, arguing that the trial court remains properly seized of the matter.
The electoral body had, on April 1, removed the names of Mark and Aregbesola from its official portal as National Chairman and Secretary of the ADC, citing the subsisting Court of Appeal judgment. INEC further stated that it would not recognise any faction of the party pending the final determination of the dispute.
Despite this development, the party has indicated plans to proceed with its scheduled national convention.
Meanwhile, Justice Nwite had, on April 14, adjourned indefinitely the substantive suit filed by Gombe at the Federal High Court, citing the pendency of the related appeal before the Supreme Court. He warned that continuing proceedings in the matter could amount to “judicial rascality.”
The Supreme Court’s eventual ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications for the leadership structure of the ADC, particularly as political activities begin to gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections.