ADC: Court Sets New Date for Nafiu Bala’s Lawsuit Against Mark and Aregbesola

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has set a hearing date of June 3 for a suit brought by Nafiu‑Bala Gombe, who seeks to prevent David Mark and others from presenting themselves as leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, hearing notices have been issued and served to the lawyers of the parties involved.

The case, filed by the former ADC National Deputy Chairman, was initially before Justice Emeka Nwite of a sister court. It was later reassigned to Justice Lifu after Justice Nwite was elevated to the Court of Appeal.

The National Judicial Council, at its 111th meeting on May 13, recommended the appointment of 12 new Court of Appeal justices, including Justice Nwite, to President Bola Tinubu for approval.

In the suit, Gombe seeks an order restraining ADC National Chairman Mark, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (National Secretary), and members of the interim National Working Committee (NWC) from presenting themselves as the party’s leaders.

He argues that the emergence of Mark, Aregbesola and other NWC members as leaders breaches the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.

Gombe sued ADC, Mark, Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Ralph Nwosu as the first to fifth defendants respectively in case FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025.

Nwosu was the former ADC National Chairman who stepped down to allow David Mark to lead the party.

On April 14, Justice Nwite adjourned the case sine die (indefinitely) after Gombe requested a delay pending the Supreme Court’s judgment in Mark’s appeal.

However, on April 30, the Supreme Court set aside the Court of Appeal order that had maintained the status quo ante bellum in the ADC leadership dispute, on which INEC had acted by derecognising the Mark‑led leadership.

The apex court ordered the parties to return to the Federal High Court for an expeditious hearing of Gombe’s case.

INEC complied with the Supreme Court judgment by restoring the Mark‑led leadership on the commission’s official portal.

When the case was heard on May 8 before Justice Nwite following the Supreme Court order, Luka Haruna, SAN, who represented Gombe, requested that the case be transferred to another judge.

Haruna said a letter had been written to the Chief Justice, although no reason was given. The lawyers for ADC, Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu opposed the application.

ADC’s counsel Rilwan Okpanachi; Suleiman Usman, SAN, who appeared for Mark; Mohammed Sheriff, representing Aregbesola; P. I. Oyewole, counsel for Chief Ralph Nwosu; and other lawyers in the case strongly opposed Gombe’s request for a transfer.

The lawyers said Gombe’s letter had not been served on them and described Haruna’s application as an “ambush.”

They also viewed the request as an attempt to frustrate the Court of Appeal’s order for an accelerated hearing, which had been upheld by the Supreme Court.

The defense lawyers, who called Gombe’s application “forum shopping,” said the only benefit of the transfer request was that it confirmed the court’s integrity.

They argued that nothing substantive had occurred since the last adjournment and that they had full confidence in Justice Nwite’s court’s integrity, impartiality and sound judicial discretion.

“The so‑called letter, in normal view, is a fundamental breach of procedure, amounting in law to an illegality and not a mere irregularity,” they argued.

They said they would have insisted that the court proceed with the hearing but only after obtaining a certified true copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgment, which had not yet been secured, so that the trial court could be properly guided by it.

They therefore sought an indefinite adjournment to allow them to provide the judge with the CTC, and Justice Nwite adjourned the case sine die (indefinitely) pending receipt of the CTC.

NAN reports that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged as the ADC presidential candidate on May 27 after defeating two other aspirants, including Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation, at the party’s national convention.

Also, Dumebi Kachikwu, in a national convention conducted by another ADC faction, emerged as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the party was adopted by factional members of the party as the sole presidential candidate on May 24.