The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Wednesday reserved judgment in the leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC), bringing a temporary pause to a high-stakes legal battle over control of the party.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Mohammed Garba, announced the decision after listening to arguments from all parties in the appeal marked SC/CV/180/2026.
The suit was filed by Senator David Mark, who is seeking to overturn a March 12 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which upheld an earlier decision maintaining the status quo in the party’s leadership dispute.
Mark, who leads a faction reportedly backed by prominent opposition figures, argued through his counsel that the appellate court overstepped its jurisdiction by intervening in what he described as the internal affairs of a political party.
His legal team, led by Mr. Jubril Okutepa, SAN, maintained that the matter is non-justiciable, insisting that courts lack jurisdiction to determine internal party leadership disputes.
“The dispute is purely an internal party matter, and the courts have consistently held that such issues are outside their jurisdiction,” counsel to the appellant argued while adopting his brief.
Respondents in the case include the ADC, its National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), former party chairman Chief Ralph Nwosu, and factional leaders led by Nafiu-Bala Gombe.
While INEC did not file any processes in support or opposition to the appeal, other respondents urged the apex court to dismiss the case for lacking merit, arguing that the lower courts acted within their jurisdiction.
The electoral body had earlier removed Mark and Aregbesola from its portal as party leaders, citing the Court of Appeal judgment and stating it would maintain the status quo pending final determination of the case.
However, the Mark-led faction has urged the Supreme Court to nullify INEC’s action and restrain it from recognising any other leadership structure in the party.
They also sought an order staying proceedings in a related suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja, currently before Justice Emeka Nwite, which had earlier been adjourned indefinitely pending the Supreme Court’s decision.
Justice Nwite had described proceeding with the matter while the appeal is pending as “judicial rascality,” citing the need to avoid conflicting judicial outcomes.
After hearing submissions from all sides, the Supreme Court reserved judgment to a date to be communicated to parties, leaving the ADC leadership crisis unresolved for now.