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A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has nullified the processes that led to the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election.
The court also nullified the emergence of former Senate President David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola and other members of the party’s leadership as national officers of the ADC.
Justice Peter Lifu, in a judgment delivered on Thursday, November 5, 2026, reportedly declared the actions taken by the Mark-led leadership invalid, including the nomination of candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The judge upheld the suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, who challenged the legitimacy of the party's leadership under Mark.
Gombe had argued that following the resignation of the party's former National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu, he was constitutionally entitled to assume leadership of the party.
The plaintiff maintained that their emergence violated the ADC constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, listed the ADC, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu as the first to fifth defendants, respectively.
Delivering judgment, Justice Lifu upheld Gombe's claims and granted the reliefs sought.
The ruling effectively invalidates the leadership structure that supervised the process through which Atiku emerged as the ADC's presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Reacting to the judgment, the ADC National Welfare Secretary, Nkemakolam Ukandu, who was joined in the suit as an interested party, said the party would appeal the ruling.
The appeal is expected to determine the next legal steps in the party's leadership dispute and the status of its preparations for the 2027 general election.
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