BREAKING: Supreme Court restores David Mark-led ADC leadership

The Supreme Court has set aside the order directing the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to maintain status quo ante bellum in its protracted leadership crisis, ruling that the Court of Appeal overstepped its jurisdiction.

In a unanimous decision delivered by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, the apex court held that the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal acted improperly by issuing the order after it had already dismissed the appeal before it.

The court described the directive as “unnecessary, unwarranted and improper,” stressing that such an order had no legal basis once the substantive appeal had been disposed of.

The judgment followed an appeal filed by David Mark, which the Supreme Court upheld in part. However, the court declined to entertain aspects of the appeal challenging an ex parte order of the Federal High Court relating to service of court processes in the underlying suit.

Consequently, the apex court directed all parties involved in the dispute to return to the trial court for the continuation of proceedings on the substantive matter.

The ruling comes against the backdrop of earlier actions by the Independent National Electoral Commission, which had removed the names of Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from its official portal as the ADC’s National Chairman and Secretary, respectively.

INEC had justified its decision by citing the now-vacated Court of Appeal order, maintaining at the time that it would not recognise any faction within the party pending the resolution of the legal dispute.

With the Supreme Court’s latest decision, the legal battle over the ADC’s leadership returns to the lower court, where a final determination on the merits of the case is now expected.

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