Abuja, November 5, 2026 – A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday nullified the processes that produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the January 16, 2027, general elections.
Justice Peter Lifu also declared illegal the David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the party and voided the nominations of all ADC candidates for the polls.
The judgment was delivered in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025 filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former National Deputy Chairman (North-East) of the ADC. Gombe had challenged the emergence of former Senate President David Mark as national chairman (or head of the caretaker committee) and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary, arguing that their assumption of office after the resignation of former National Chairman Chief Ralph Nwosu violated the ADC constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022. He contended that he was constitutionally entitled to take over the party’s leadership.
Justice Lifu upheld Gombe’s claims, ruling that Mark, Aregbesola and other national officers emerged through an unlawful process that did not follow a democratic election in line with Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act. The court set aside all actions taken by the Mark-led leadership, including the primary election that produced Atiku as the party’s flag bearer and the subsequent nominations of candidates for the presidency, governorship, National Assembly and other elective positions. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the ADC, Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu were listed as defendants.
INEC had earlier published Atiku’s name as the ADC presidential candidate, with former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate. The ruling effectively leaves the party without validly nominated candidates for the 2027 elections unless reversed on appeal, according to lawyers representing Gombe. One of them, Luka Musa Haruna (SAN), stated that “as it stands today, the ADC has no candidate, from the presidential level to the House of Assembly… except if you are from the camp of Nafiu Bala.”
The decision comes against the backdrop of a conflicting earlier ruling by Justice Musa Liman of the same court in July 2026, which had affirmed the Mark-led leadership in a separate suit. Legal observers have noted the challenges posed by conflicting judgments from courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
Reactions and Implications
The ADC has rejected the judgment and vowed to appeal. National Welfare Secretary Nkemakolam Ukandu, who was joined as an interested party, said the party would challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal. The ADC Presidential Campaign Council described the judgment as an “academic exercise that has been overtaken by events” and said its legal team was preparing an appeal, including possible steps for a stay of execution.
Atiku Abubakar condemned the verdict as a calculated attempt to weaken the ADC and frustrate his candidacy. Addressing supporters at a campaign event in Birnin Kebbi shortly after the ruling, he insisted the campaign would continue, stating that hunger and hardship “do not recognise boundaries.”
The judgment followed closely on the heels of the ADC’s presidential campaign flag-off rally in Sokoto on Wednesday, November 4, which drew large crowds. Kenneth Okonkwo, a spokesperson for Atiku’s campaign, linked the timing of the court decision to the rally’s impact. Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday, Okonkwo said: “The ADC Sokoto rally shook the APC to the bone marrow. It was not just a rally but a historic journey to rescue our people from the incompetence and corruption of the APC, hunger, unemployment.” He maintained that no court judgment could halt what he described as the party’s rescue mission.
The ruling deals a significant blow to one of the main opposition challenges to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Atiku, who previously served as vice president from 1999 to 2007, is making his seventh bid for the presidency. The ADC has indicated it will vigorously pursue appellate remedies, while the political and legal implications of the conflicting High Court decisions are expected to unfold in the coming weeks.
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