The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected a Federal High Court judgement nullifying its David Mark-led national leadership and the presidential nomination of Atiku Abubakar, accusing the All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to undermine its participation in the 2027 general elections.

The party said it would challenge the judgement delivered on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC alleged that the ruling had been prepared before Thursday and that its delivery was accelerated by the large turnout at Mr Atiku’s presidential campaign launch in Sokoto on Wednesday.

“We have reasons to believe that the judgement had long been written on this case. The Sokoto rally was simply a trigger that stampeded its delivery,” the statement said.

However, the party provided no evidence to support its allegation of APC interference or to establish a connection between the campaign rally and the timing of the judgement.

The ADC accused the ruling party of using the courts to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections and warned against efforts to prevent it from participating in the polls.

“The peace and stability of Nigeria are bigger than the ambition of any president or political party,” the statement added.

The APC had not responded to the allegation at the time of filing this report.

 Court ruling and leadership dispute

Justice Lifu delivered the judgement in a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC National Deputy Chairman (North-East), who challenged the emergence of Mr Mark and former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, as the party’s national chairman and national secretary, respectively.

According to Channels Television, the court invalidated decisions taken by the disputed leadership, including the presidential primary that produced Mr Atiku as the party’s candidate.

The ADC said it was awaiting a Certified True Copy of the judgement to determine the specific orders made by the court.

The party also questioned the ruling on the grounds that another Federal High Court had previously recognised the leadership transition involving Mr Mark and Mr Aregbesola.

 ADC cites previous court judgement

The opposition party relied on a judgement delivered on 2 July by Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court in Abuja in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025.

The suit was filed by Leke Abejide, a member of the House of Representatives, who challenged the process through which Messrs Mark and Aregbesola assumed their respective positions.

Justice Liman dismissed the case, with the ADC maintaining that the decision upheld the leadership transition.

Mr Abdullahi argued that Thursday’s ruling contradicted the earlier judgement, citing the legal principle that a court of coordinate jurisdiction cannot review or overturn the decision of another court of equal jurisdiction.

The two cases, however, were filed by different claimants.

The ADC said it would challenge the latest ruling but did not disclose whether it had filed an appeal or applied for a stay of execution.

 Background to the dispute

Mr Gombe’s suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, followed the leadership transition triggered by the departure of former ADC National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu.

He argued that his position as deputy national chairman entitled him to succeed Mr Nwosu. He subsequently asked the court to restrain Messrs Mark and Aregbesola from occupying the positions of national chairman and secretary.

The leadership dispute has passed through several stages of litigation.

In April, the Supreme Court set aside a Court of Appeal directive ordering the parties to maintain the status quo. However, the apex court did not determine who was legally entitled to lead the party.

A separate appellate decision in July addressed the Independent National Electoral Commission’s recognition of party congresses organised through committees appointed by the Mark-led leadership.

Mr Atiku launched his presidential campaign in Sokoto on Wednesday, a day before Justice Lifu delivered the latest judgement.

At the time of filing this report, INEC had not publicly announced any change to Mr Atiku’s status on its published list of presidential candidates.