The internal leadership dispute within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) resumes today (Friday) at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Justice Emeka Nwite is expected to hear a suit challenging the legitimacy of the party’s current national leadership.
The case, filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, targets the leadership structure led by former Senate President, David Mark, and seeks judicial determination on the legality of the current National Working Committee.
But ahead of the hearing, the Mark-led faction has alleged attempts to interfere in the proceedings, claiming that there are moves to influence judicial decisions and possibly alter the assignment of the case.
In a statement on Thursday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, warned that any interference in the matter could undermine the independence of the judiciary and destabilise constitutional order.
He said the party had received indications of unusual developments around the scheduling of the case before Justice Nwite, despite pending procedural issues arising from earlier appellate court proceedings.
“Information available to the ADC legal team indicates that, despite the fact that the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment has not yet been released or formally communicated to the trial court, the matter has curiously been fixed before Justice Nwite for May 8, 2026,” Abdullahi said.
He alleged that the development may be part of a broader attempt to pressure the court or trigger a reassignment of the matter.
“We have credible reasons to believe that this unusual haste is part of a calculated scheme to force Justice Nwite into recusing himself, thereby creating an opening for the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to transfer the matter to judges allegedly considered more amenable to political influence,” he added.
Abdullahi further warned that any attempt to interfere with the assignment or handling of the case would amount to an attack on judicial independence.
“Any attempt to remove the case from Justice Nwite, whether by administrative manipulation, intimidation, blackmail, or coordinated pressure, amounts to a deliberate interference in the due administration of justice,” he said.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/1819/2025, is part of a widening internal crisis within the ADC, which has intensified since the party became a platform for a coalition of opposition figures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Prominent politicians linked to the coalition include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, whose involvement has coincided with rising factional disputes within the party.
Court records indicate that hearing notices have already been issued following an application by the plaintiff’s legal team seeking accelerated hearing, after the Supreme Court reportedly dismissed an interlocutory appeal filed by the Mark faction on April 30, 2026.
Gombe’s lawyers, led by senior advocates Robert Emukpoeruo (SAN), Lukman Fagbemi (SAN), and Luka Haruna (SAN), urged the court to proceed expeditiously in line with earlier appellate court directives.
The plaintiff is asking the court to restrain Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, and other party officials from presenting themselves as national leaders of the ADC, arguing that their emergence violates the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
Justice Nwite had previously adjourned the matter indefinitely on April 14, pending the outcome of Supreme Court proceedings, but declined an earlier application from the defence seeking consolidation of pending motions with the substantive suit.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and former ADC National Chairman Ralph Nwosu are also listed as defendants in the suit, as the party’s leadership crisis continues to play out through multiple court actions.
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