By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has fixed April 22 for the hearing of an appeal arising from the leadership dispute in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), filed by its embattled National Chairman, Senator David Mark.
A five-member panel of the court, led by Justice Mohammed Garba, fixed the date on Tuesday, April 14, after granting an accelerated hearing in the appeal marked SC/CV/180/2026.
The apex court directed Mark’s counsel, Jibril Okutepa, to file and serve the appellant’s brief within a short timeframe, in line with the accelerated hearing granted.
It also ordered the respondents to file their briefs within three days of service, while the appellant is to file a reply, if necessary, within one day after receiving the respondents’ processes.
Mark had filed the appeal against the March 12 judgement of the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the former Senate President’s earlier appeal challenging a September 4, 2025, ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court had refused to grant injunctive relief sought in an ex parte application filed by a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Nafiu Gombe.
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The party’s internal leadership dispute centres on the ADC’s control and leadership structure, with rival factions laying claim to the party’s leadership.
The party has been battling a lingering leadership dispute since 2025, following the emergence of a new National Working Committee (NWC) led by Mark in July. The dispute stemmed from disagreements over the tenure of former chairman, Ralph Nwosu, which ended in August 2022.
Nwosu was reported to support the 2025 transition; however, his deputy, Nafiu Bala Gombe, insisted he should assume the role of acting chairman after Nwosu’s exit.
In the ensuing litigations, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on April 1, announced the delisting of prominent members of the ADC, including David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, from its records.
INEC, through its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information Committee, Mohammed Haruna, said the decision complied with a court order directing it to maintain the status quo pending the final judgement of the trial court.
The Mark-led ADC alleged that INEC’s action is part of a plot to prevent it from fielding candidates in the 2027 general election, adding that the electoral body’s decision was orchestrated to create obstacles that would ultimately exclude it from the electoral process.
The party’s faction subsequently dragged INEC to the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking orders to compel the electoral body to reverse its decision deleting the party’s top officials, including David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola, from its records.
Mark, in a motion on notice dated April 7, filed through his counsel, Sulaiman Usman, SAN, prayed the court to issue a mandatory injunction directing the electoral body to immediately restore the names of the party’s NWC members as they existed before the dispute.
