ABUJA, Nigeria — Three aggrieved members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the removal of the newly appointed interim leadership of the party, led by former Senate President David Mark.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1328, plaintiffs Adeyemi Emmanuel, Ayodeji Victor Tolu, and Haruna Ismaila are contesting the legality of Senator Mark’s appointment as Interim National Chairman, as well as that of Rauf Aregbesola, former governor of Osun State, as Interim National Secretary, and Bolaji Abdullahi, former Minister of Sports, as Interim National Publicity Secretary.
The African Democratic Congress is named as the 1st defendant in the suit.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the immediate past National Chairman of the party, Chief Ralph Nwosu, are joined as 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively.
Mark, Aregbesola, and Abdullahi are the 4th, 5th, and 6th defendants.
The plaintiffs have posed a series of legal questions for the court to determine, challenging the legitimacy of the appointments and the process that brought the new interim leaders into office.
Central to the suit is whether the handover of the party’s structure to the coalition-backed interim team violates the ADC’s 2018 Constitution (as amended) and a subsisting judgment of the Federal High Court delivered by Justice Binta Nyako in December 2022.
They are asking the court to decide:
-
Whether the ADC Constitution permits the appointment of interim national officers such as a National Chairman, Secretary, and Publicity Secretary.
-
Whether the newly appointed leaders were registered ADC members and met the constitutional criteria to hold such positions.
-
Whether the current Executive Committee of the ADC could legally be dissolved without a properly convened National Convention or a decision of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
-
Whether INEC can lawfully recognise the interim leadership under existing legal frameworks.
The plaintiffs further assert that the transition was unconstitutional and requested the court to declare the appointments “null and void.”
This lawsuit comes just weeks after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and other opposition heavyweights unveiled the ADC as the unifying platform of a new coalition aimed at challenging President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
In response, Chief Ralph Nwosu, the party’s founding national chairman, announced the collapse of all existing structures of the party in favour of the new coalition leadership, positioning it as a vehicle for broader national opposition.
However, the plaintiffs argue that this handover, particularly the emergence of Senator Mark and others as interim leaders, undermines both internal party democracy and the rule of law.
No date has been fixed for hearing the case, but party insiders say the legal challenge could create fresh uncertainty for the opposition coalition, just as it attempts to consolidate its base ahead of the 2027 elections.
