April 09, (THEWILL) — The leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under former Senate President Senator David Mark has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking judicial intervention to reverse what it described as the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) “erroneous” removal of party leadership records from its official portal.
The petition, filed on April 7, 2026, by Mark’s newly appointed legal counsel, Sulaiman Usman, SAN, comes in response to INEC’s April 1 removal of the names of Mark, as National Chairman, and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as National Secretary, from its official portal and website.
The motion requests the court to grant a mandatory injunction restoring the full membership of the ADC National Working Committee (NWC) in INEC’s records and to prevent any interference with the party’s leadership structure pending the determination of the suit.
Mark’s legal team argued that the action follows the Court of Appeal’s March 12 judgment in a suit instituted by Nafiu Bala Gombe, which directed the parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum.
According to Usman, INEC’s removal of the names created a leadership vacuum and was inconsistent with the appellate court’s directive, thereby prejudicing the Mark-led ADC.
“The status quo ante bellum referred to the last lawful, uncontested state of affairs before the institution of the suit.
“As at September 2, 2025, when this action was instituted, Senator David Mark was the recognized National Chairman of ADC, and the leadership structure had been duly constituted,” Usman explained.
He added that the plaintiff (Gombe), had resigned from his prior office and had no subsisting role within the party, further underscoring the legitimacy of the Mark leadership.
The motion, brought under Order 26, Rules 1–4 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019, also cited the court’s inherent and equitable jurisdiction to grant injunctive relief. Specifically, the Mark-led motion sought:
“A mandatory injunction setting aside INEC’s removal of ADC leadership names and its refusal to monitor the party’s congresses or conventions pending the suit.
“An order directing INEC to immediately restore and maintain the records of ADC’s leadership, including Mark, Aregbesola, and all members of the National Executive Committee.
“A restraining order preventing INEC from tampering with, interfering in, or recognizing any contrary or competing claims regarding the party’s leadership structure until the final determination of the suit.”
Usman outlined seven grounds in support of the application, emphasizing that INEC’s removal of names from its portal was a misinterpretation of the Court of Appeal’s directive and could render the matter of the suit nugatory.
“The law is settled that a mandatory injunction may be granted at an interlocutory stage to restore a party to the position wrongfully altered. This is a proper case for the exercise of the equitable jurisdiction of this honourable court,” he stated.
In addition to the motion for mandatory injunction, Mark’s legal team filed another motion on April 7 seeking an accelerated hearing of the suit.
The motion requests that the court abridge filing timelines, and hear the matter on a day-to-day basis until its conclusion.
Usman argued that the case involves fundamental issues affecting the internal administration and political participation of ADC, with implications for democratic governance.
He emphasised that the ongoing uncertainty had created avoidable confusion and threatened parallel leadership claims within the party.
THEWILL reports that the ADC leadership dispute dates back to September 4, 2025, when Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court declined an ex parte application by Gombe seeking to halt the Mark-led leadership.
At that time, the judge directed that all defendants be put on notice to show cause why the motion should not be granted and adjourned the matter to September 15, 2025.
Dissatisfied with the lower court’s handling, Mark approached the Court of Appeal, which maintained the status quo ante bellum pending final determination of the case.
The original suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, lists ADC, Mark, Aregbesola, INEC, and Chief Ralph Nwosu as the first to fifth defendants. Nwosu, a former ADC national chairman, had stepped down to allow the leadership of Mark to take effect.
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