The presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar suffered a major legal setback on Monday after the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed a Federal High Court judgment restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising state congresses conducted by committees appointed by the Senator David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The appellate court, in a split 2-1 decision, dismissed an appeal filed by the David Mark-led faction and upheld the earlier judgment delivered by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court.
The majority judgment, delivered by Justice Okon Abang and supported by Justice Donatus Okorowo, held that there was no basis to set aside the trial court’s orders, effectively sustaining the injunction against INEC’s recognition of congresses organised under the authority of the Mark-led caretaker committee.
The judgment has significant political implications, coming only weeks after the David Mark-led faction of the ADC conducted a national convention that produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
With the Court of Appeal declaring the congresses and national convention conducted by the caretaker leadership null and void for being held in defiance of an existing court order, legal observers say fresh uncertainty now surrounds the legitimacy of decisions taken by the faction, including the emergence of Atiku as the party’s presidential flag bearer.
The appellate court also affirmed the order restraining the caretaker leadership from interfering with the tenure and constitutional responsibilities of the duly elected State Executive Committees.
According to the court, the authority to conduct state congresses resides exclusively with the elected state executive committees and not with committees constituted by the party’s national caretaker leadership.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Abang stressed that the dispute transcended the internal affairs of a political party because constitutional questions had been raised.
He held that judicial intervention was necessary “to prevent anarchy and ensure the survival of democracy in Nigeria.”
The court further declared: “Once a complaint before the court is anchored on a constitutional infraction, the shield of internal affairs drops and the veil is lifted for judicial intervention.”
The appellate court relied on a recent Supreme Court decision involving the leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), holding that the ADC dispute could not be dismissed as a mere internal party affair where constitutional violations had been alleged.
Justice Abba Mohammed, in his minority judgment, however held that the matter concerned the internal affairs of the political party and was therefore not justiciable.
He maintained that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit and further ruled that State Executive Committees are responsible only for preparing the agenda of state congresses rather than conducting them.
Despite the dissent, the majority judgment prevailed. The Court of Appeal consequently affirmed that the state congresses and the national convention conducted by the David Mark-led caretaker leadership were null and void because they were carried out in violation of a subsisting court order.
The court also awarded costs of ¦ 10 million against the appellants in favour of the 1st to 7th respondents.
The latest judgment represents another twist in the prolonged legal battle over the control of the ADC, which has become the political platform adopted by a coalition of opposition figures ahead of the 2027 elections.
Although the David Mark-led leadership had earlier secured a separate Federal High Court judgment affirming its emergence as the party’s leadership in another suit challenging its composition, Monday’s appellate decision specifically reinforces existing restraining orders relating to the conduct of congresses and the powers of the caretaker committee.
Political analysts believe the ruling could trigger further litigation over the validity of actions taken by the Mark-led leadership, particularly the nomination of candidates for elective offices.
However, ADC officials have insisted that the judgment does not automatically invalidate candidates produced through the party’s direct primaries and have indicated that the party will challenge the decision at the Supreme Court.
For Atiku Abubakar, who emerged as the presidential candidate through the convention organised by the David Mark-led faction, the appellate court’s verdict introduces a fresh layer of legal uncertainty into his 2027 presidential bid, pending the determination of the dispute by the Supreme Court or any further orders affecting the status of the party’s leadership and convention.
