A three-member panel delivered a split decision of two to one. Justice Okon Abang read the lead verdict and found no reason to set aside the restraining order that the Federal High Court, Abuja, issued against the Mark-led ADC on April 29.
Court Declares Congresses and Convention a Nullity
The appellate court also affirmed an earlier ruling by trial Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, which stopped Mark-led executives from interfering with the tenure and functions of the party’s elected state executives.
Judges declared that the congresses and national convention the Mark-led ADC conducted amount to a nullity. They held these events in disobedience of a subsisting order that the high court issued on April 14. The panel awarded a cost of ₦10 million against the party as a result.
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Justice Abang and Justice Donatus Okorowo formed the majority. They ruled that responsibility for conducting state congresses rests with elected state executive committees, not the national leadership. Justice Abba Mohammed, who leads the panel, dissented. He disagreed that the trial court held jurisdiction over the matter and argued that courts should avoid interfering in a party’s political decisions.
Legal Battle Traces Back to April Suit
The dispute originated from a suit that aggrieved ADC members filed at the Federal High Court. Don Norman Obinna, Johnny Tovie Derek, Obah C. Ehigiator, Olona Yinka, Charles Idowu Omideji, Samuel Pam Gyang, and Obianyo Patrick brought the case on behalf of themselves and all state chairmen and executive committees of the party.
The plaintiffs challenged appointments the Mark-led caretaker committee made. They argued that state congresses scheduled for April 2026, if the caretaker committee supervised them, would breach the party’s constitution. They further contended that only duly elected party organs hold the power to conduct congresses under ADC rules.
Justice Abdulmalik agreed with the plaintiffs at trial. She held that neither the 1999 Constitution nor the ADC’s own constitution empowers a caretaker or interim National Working Committee to appoint congress committees. She ruled that the four-year tenure of the party’s State Working Committees and State Executive Committees remains valid until the party conducts properly constituted congresses and holds a national convention.
Faction Leader Calls Convention “Null and Void”
The ruling adds to months of internal wrangling within the ADC. A factional national chairman, Nafiu Bala, dismissed the April 14 convention at a news conference in Abuja shortly after it took place. He insisted the event defied a Court of Appeal judgment delivered on March 12, 2026, and said any action taken against that judgment remains “liable to be declared null and void.”
Bala also rejected his own expulsion, which the Mark-led faction announced during the same convention. He maintains that his faction represents the party’s legitimate leadership and that the coalition group lacks the standing to convene any congress or convention.
ADC Vows Supreme Court Appeal
The ADC, represented by National Welfare Secretary Nkem Ukandu, responded to the judgment by confirming the party will challenge the decision before the Supreme Court.
The outcome carries weight for the ADC ahead of the 2027 general election. It casts doubt over the legitimacy of congresses and the convention through which the party selected several candidates, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
The case builds on a tangled legal history between the ADC and rival PDP factions this year, with both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court issuing conflicting orders over party leadership recognition since March. INEC has so far removed the Mark-led NWC from its official records and says it will not deal with any faction until the courts settle the matter conclusively.
The Federal High Court suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/581/2026, remains the reference point for the broader leadership dispute, with further proceedings expected as the ADC pursues its appeal.
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