Court Adjourns Judgment in Abejide’s Suit Against Mark, Aregbesola to Tuesday

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday adjourned judgment in a suit filed by Rep. Leke Abejide until Tuesday.

Abejide is seeking an order restraining Sen. David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from parading themselves as the National Chairman and National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), respectively.

The suit, which was scheduled for judgment before Justice Musa Liman, could not be delivered as the judge was engaged in another official assignment. The court subsequently fixed Tuesday for the judgment.

Justice Liman had earlier reserved judgment after counsel to the plaintiff, Ibrahim Idris, SAN, and defence lawyers adopted their processes and presented arguments for and against the case.

Abejide, a member of the House of Representatives elected on the ADC platform, instituted the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, filed on Feb. 15, 2026. The defendants in the case include the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, Mark, Aregbesola, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Among the reliefs sought, the lawmaker asked the court to nullify the alleged transfer of the party’s leadership by Nwosu to Mark and Aregbesola as interim National Chairman and National Secretary on July 2, 2025, at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja, describing it as unlawful, null and void.

He also prayed for a perpetual injunction restraining Mark and Aregbesola from presenting themselves as leaders of the party, as well as an order restraining INEC from recognising them in those capacities, citing non-compliance with Section 82 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

In response, counsel to the defendants—including Shaibu Aruwa, SAN (for ADC), P. I. Oyewole (for Nwosu), Rilwan Okpanachi (for Mark), I. R. Abdullahi (for Aregbesola), and Anthony Onyeri (for INEC)—urged the court to dismiss the suit for lacking merit.

They argued that Abejide lacked the legal standing to institute the case and maintained that the issues raised pertain to the internal affairs of a political party, which are not justiciable. The defendants further contended that the court lacks jurisdiction over the matter.

Additionally, they stated that the party’s leadership under Mark emerged from a National Executive Committee meeting held on July 29, 2025, contrary to Abejide’s claim of a July 2 handover.

The defendants described the suit as academic and urged the court to dismiss it with substantial costs in line with relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.

INEC, in its submission, filed an eight-paragraph counter-affidavit with an exhibit marked INEC-1 and also asked the court to dismiss the suit.