The Federal High Court in Abuja will on April 14 hear a suit seeking to restrain the Senator David Mark-led faction of the African Democratic Congress from parading itself as the party’s leadership. The hearing date, fixed by Justice Emeka Nwite, coincides with the same day the Mark-led group scheduled its national convention, setting the stage for a pivotal legal confrontation. The case, filed by a former deputy national chairman of the party, Nafiu-Bala Gombe, names the ADC, Senator Mark, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission, and Chief Ralph Nwosu as defendants.
This follows a recent Court of Appeal judgment on March 12, which ordered all parties to return to the trial court and maintain the status quo that existed before the legal dispute. This appellate court directive was issued pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit. However, in a move that sparked fresh controversy, INEC subsequently removed the names of Mark and Aregbesola from its official portal and website as the party’s national chairman and national secretary on April 1.
In reaction to the commission’s action, the Mark-led faction, through its lawyer Sulaiman Usman, SAN, filed a motion on April 7 praying the court to order INEC to restore their names to the positions they held before Gombe instituted the suit. They also requested an order for an accelerated hearing of the case. Conversely, Senator David Mark has urged the court to dismiss the suit outright, arguing that Gombe lacks the legal standing to file it since he voluntarily resigned his position as deputy national chairman.
Mark, in a preliminary objection, contended that the matter revolves around the internal affairs of a political party, which are not subject to judicial intervention. He described the suit as predicated on falsehood and an abuse of court process. Similarly, the party’s embattled national secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, in a counter affidavit, argued that Gombe seeks to approbate and reprobate, having resigned to make way for party restructuring. Aregbesola is seeking a cost of N50 million for being inconvenienced by the suit.
The fifth defendant, former national chairman Ralph Nwosu, has also filed a preliminary objection, asserting that the case is premature. His lawyer, P. I. Oyewole, argued that Gombe failed to exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court. The outcome of the April 14 hearing will be crucial in determining the legitimate leadership of the ADC and could have significant implications for the party’s structure and preparations for future elections.
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