The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has nullified the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Peter Lifu also sacked former Senate President David Mark, former Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola, and other members of the party’s National Working Committee, declaring their leadership illegal and void.
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The ruling effectively throws the ADC into a profound leadership and electoral crisis, as the court ordered the cancellation of all candidate nominations across the board for the 2027 polls, citing their descent from an “illegal and unlawful leadership.”
The court’s verdict was the outcome of a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, the Deputy National Chairman of the ADC.
Gombe had approached the court to challenge the process that brought David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, and other chieftains into the party’s national hierarchy, arguing that their ascension violated the party’s constitution and electoral guidelines.
Delivering judgment, Justice Lifu upheld Gombe’s arguments.
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The judge held that the emergence of David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as national officers of the party was done in an unlawful and illegal manner.
Consequently, the court ruled that any actions, decisions, congresses, or primary elections conducted under the leadership of David Mark—including the party machinery that produced Atiku Abubakar as the presidential flagbearer—stand nullified.
Thursday’s judgment is a devastating blow to Atiku Abubakar’s political machinery, which recently pitched its tent with the ADC in a strategic realignment ahead of the 2027 race.
With the court declaring the entire leadership structure of the party invalid and wiping out the nomination of all candidates under the current dispensation, the ADC faces a race against time to reorganize its internal architecture or seek legal redress through appellate courts.
As of the time of filing this report, neither Atiku Abubakar, David Mark, nor the national leadership of the ADC has issued an official statement regarding the judgment.
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However, legal experts anticipate an immediate appeal and a flurry of motions for a stay of execution at the Court of Appeal.
