Court Affirms ADC Leadership

The Federal High Court in Abuja affirmed the leadership of the Nigeria — African Democratic Congress (ADC), declaring David Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary. The court dismissed a suit filed by Leke Abejide challenging their appointments, ruling that the case concerned the internal affairs of the political party and that Leke Abejide failed to establish a violation of his legal rights or exhaust internal dispute resolution processes. The court also awarded N2 million in costs against Leke Abejide to each defendant and an additional N10 million penalty on his lawyer. Following the judgment, Bello Matawalle stated that the ruling vindicated President Bola Tinubu against allegations of interfering with the judiciary or working to turn Nigeria into a one-party state. Atiku Abubakar also commended the judiciary for its courage and independence, viewing the decision as a victory for constitutional democracy.