The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under David Mark, dismissing a suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide challenging the party's leadership structure.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman ruled that Abejide's suit lacked merit and upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, and National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola.

The court held that the dispute was an internal party matter beyond its jurisdiction and therefore non-justiciable. Justice Liman also ruled that Abejide failed to establish that his legal rights had been violated by the emergence of the current leadership.

According to the judgment, the lawmaker did not exhaust the ADC's internal dispute resolution process before approaching the court.

On the substantive issues, the court found that the transition of the party's leadership from Nwosu to Mark complied with the ADC constitution and relevant electoral laws.

Justice Liman held that the July 2, 2025 stakeholders' meeting, where Nwosu handed over leadership, was a precursor to the party's National Executive Committee meeting held on July 29, 2025. The NEC meeting, monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), formally produced David Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary.

The court declared that their emergence was valid and in line with the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act, 2026.

Justice Liman also ordered Abejide to pay ₦2 million in costs to each of the defendants. In addition, the court awarded ₦10 million in costs against his counsel in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2026.

Abejide had filed the suit seeking to nullify the July 2, 2025 leadership handover, arguing that the appointments of Mark and Aregbesola violated the Electoral Act and the party's constitution. He also sought court orders restraining the two leaders from acting in their positions and preventing INEC from recognising them.

The court dismissed all the reliefs sought.