The Federal High Court, Abuja on Thursday affirmed David Mark’s leadership of the opposition African Democratic Congress, a ruling the party welcomed even as former Vice‑President Atiku Abubakar said he would continue his pursuit of the 2027 presidency.
Atiku described the judgment, which dismissed a suit filed by a member of the House of Representatives, Leke Abejide, as victory for constitutional democracy and a rejection of attempts to use the judiciary for political ends.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, its former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, Mark, and the party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola.
The judge held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter because it bordered on the internal affairs of a political party, which he described as non-justiciable.
Justice Liman also ruled that Abejide lacked the legal standing to institute the suit, having failed to demonstrate how his rights were violated by the emergence of the current ADC leadership.
He further held that the lawmaker did not exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism before approaching the court.
The judge equally resolved the issues raised in the substantive suit in favour of the defendants.
Reacting in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the court deserved commendation for upholding legal principles on jurisdiction, locus standi, and internal party dispute mechanisms.
“The court could not have been clearer. It rightly held that the matter borders on the internal affairs of the ADC, that the Federal High Court lacks jurisdiction, and that the plaintiffs neither exhausted the internal remedies provided by the party’s constitution nor established the locus standi required to invoke the jurisdiction of the court.
“We commend Justice Liman for refusing to allow the judiciary to be converted into an extension of partisan political warfare,” he said.
Atiku described the judgment as a boost for the rule of law amid what he called sustained pressure on opposition parties.
punch
