The leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress is set for another legal showdown as the Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed Friday, May 8, 2026, to hear a suit challenging the emergence of former Senate President David Mark and others as leaders of the party.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/1819/2025, is before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The suit was filed by Nafiu Gombe, a former National Deputy Chairman of the ADC, who is asking the court to stop David Mark, former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola, and other officials from presenting themselves as the legitimate leadership of the party.
According to reports, hearing notices have already been issued to all parties involved after the plaintiff’s legal team applied for an accelerated hearing of the matter.
In a letter dated May 5 and addressed to the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, lawyers representing Gombe informed the court that an interlocutory appeal earlier filed by David Mark had already been dismissed by the Supreme Court on April 30, 2026.
The legal team, led by senior lawyers Luka Haruna (SAN), Robert Emukpoeruo, and Lukman Fagbemi, urged the court to proceed quickly with the matter in line with the judgment earlier delivered by the Court of Appeal.
“Following the dismissal of the interlocutory appeal filed by Senator David Mark by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on April 30, 2026, we hereby apply for a date for the accelerated hearing of this matter,” the lawyers stated in their application.
The fresh hearing date comes weeks after Justice Nwite adjourned the case indefinitely on April 14 after Gombe requested that the court wait for the Supreme Court’s decision before continuing proceedings.
At the time, the court also rejected an application by the Mark-led faction of the ADC seeking the hearing of all pending motions, including the substantive suit itself.
In the suit, Gombe is challenging the process that produced David Mark and Aregbesola as leaders of the party, arguing that their emergence violated both the ADC constitution and provisions of the Electoral Act.
The plaintiff listed the ADC, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission, and former ADC National Chairman Ralph Nwosu as defendants in the matter.
The legal battle adds to the growing internal crisis within the ADC, which has witnessed several defections, leadership disagreements, and court disputes in recent weeks ahead of the 2027 political season.
