₦airaland Forum

A federal high court in Abuja has fixed April 14 for hearing a suit filed by Nafiu Bala, a former deputy national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), challenging David Mark’s leadership of the party.

Bala is seeking to stop the Mark-led leadership from parading themselves as national officers of the ADC.

BACKGROUND

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, lists the ADC, Mark, Rauf Aregbesola (national secretary), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Ralph Nwosu, the party’s founder and former national chairman, as defendants.

Bala maintained that he never resigned his position as national vice-chairman and argued that he ought to have assumed leadership in line with the party’s constitution following Nwosu’s exit as national chairman.

He later declared himself national chairman, vowing to challenge the Mark leadership in court.

In the suit filed on September 2, 2025, Bala is seeking an order restraining INEC from recognising Mark-led executives and compelling recognition of himself as acting national chairman.

He also filed motions seeking to stop the party from holding meetings, congresses, or conventions pending the determination of the suit.

The motion ex parte was heard on September 4, 2025, and Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, directed that the respondents, including INEC, be put on notice to show cause why the motion ex parte should not be granted.

Dissatisfied with an interim ruling, Mark filed an appeal challenging the jurisdiction of the federal high court to continue to hear Bala’s suit.

However, on March 12, 2026, the court of appeal dismissed Mark’s case in its entirety, holding that it was incompetent and unmeritorious.

The court of appeal directed parties to return to the trial court and maintain the status quo ante bellum pending determination of the suit.

On April 1, INEC announced that it would no longer recognise the factions of the ADC led by Mark or Bala, following its review of the court of appeal judgement.

The commission also said it would refrain from engaging with both groups or monitoring their meetings, congresses, and conventions.

In response to INEC’s decision, the Mark-led faction filed a motion asking the court to compel the commission to restore their names and recognise them as members of the party’s national working committee (NWC).

The motion, filed on April 7 by Sulaiman Usman, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), also seeks an accelerated hearing of the case.

Mark has also filed a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit.

He argued that Bala lacks the locus standi to institute the action, having resigned his position as national vice-chairman of the party.

According to him, the suit is based on “falsehood and suppression of material facts” and relates to the internal affairs of a political party, which he said are not justiciable.

“This honourable court lacks jurisdiction to entertain this suit. The suit constitutes a gross abuse of court process,” Mark argued.

Aregbesola also urged the court to dismiss the case, contending that Bala is no longer a member of the party’s national executive committee (NEC).

He said Bala resigned his position to allow for restructuring within the party, adding that the resignation was duly communicated to INEC.

Aregbesola described the suit as unmeritorious and asked the court to award N50 million in costs against the plaintiff.

Similarly, Nwosu filed a preliminary objection, arguing that the suit is premature, stating that Bala failed to exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.

AMINDA:
A court has no jurisdiction on the internal affairs of a political party, except in the conduct of its primaries. But bring it on!

Racoon:
All these are handiwork of the ruling government

Sermwell:
Tinubu has already put call to the judges!! Expect a very bias and stupid outcome!!

Tareq1105:
Any reasonable person would know that:

* You need to spend 2 years before you can be Exco members of ADC.

* The resignation letter of Bala Gombe was not proper. He couldn't have written his resignation letter on a plane sheet of paper when he had official letter headed papers. Therefore, he did not resign properly.

* David Mark and Aregbesola couldn't have joined the Party on 2nd July and became its chairman and secretary same day.

* You don't join a political party at Abuja bcoz we saw video of their membership in Abuja. You join in your Ward. We saw where Ralph Nwosu presented Mark and aregbe their membership cards.

* Ralph okey Nwosu upon his resignation should have handed over to the vice chairman in line with the ADC constitution and not a total strangers to the party who were neither members of the party nor Exco members elected at any convention of the party.

With the above, I can tell you, if you find it difficult to comprehend, the outcome of the legal tussle.

So, it's not Tinubu. Anyone without emotion or biased mind would know where the pendulum will swing.