*Sacks David Mark-led exco
*Atiku: It’s panic from Sokoto rally
Chuks Okocha, Alex Enumah, Sunday Aborisade in Abuja and Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano
In a ruling that has shocked the entire nation and put democracy in apparent hazard, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, sacked the Senator David Mark-led Exco of African Democratic Congress (ADC), some 71 days to the presidential election.
By the ruling, Lifu successfully voided the candidacies of no fewer than 1,503 folks, together with the presidential candidate of ADC, Atiku Abubakar, for the sake of 1 man, Nafiu Bala Gombe.
Interestingly, on July 2, 2026, Hon. Justice Musa S. Liman additionally of the Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja delivered a judgment in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025 (Hon. Leke Joseph Abejide v. African Democratic Congress & 4 Ors.) concerning the management of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Justice Lima had dismissed the swimsuit then, figuring out the court docket lacked jurisdiction over an inside celebration affair and that the plaintiff lacked standing and didn’t exhaust inside treatments of the celebration.
Justice Lima then directed INEC to acknowledge the celebration management and interact with them, whereas awarding prices in opposition to the plaintiff.
Justice Lifu, by his judgment yesterday is successfully overruling Justice Lima’s (worthy of notice is each Justices are of equal and coordinate jurisdiction) July judgment which declared David Mark led Exco as reliable, legitimate and directed INEC to recognise it.
Four months after Justice Lima’s directive to INEC to recognise Mark-led Exco, Justice Lifu has declared that very same Exco as current in contravention of the celebration’s structure.
Atiku in his instant response, mentioned the newest case raised severe authorized considerations: “Why, after that judgment, was one other case filed to reopen the identical dispute?
Before Justice Lifu’s ruling, ADC had on its checklist 28 governorship candidates, 108 senatorial hopefuls, 352 House of Representatives commonplace bearers, and 1,015 Houses of Assembly picks for the 2027 normal election.
However, with the Lifu ruling, particularly in opposition to its timing, the destiny of 1,503 folks have been affected in probably the most egregious method, leaving them in a quandary, and the whole nation in hypothesis over what would possibly occur subsequent because the nation inches in direction of the 2027 elections.
The greater query on the lips of the general public is: which of those two conflicting judgments will INEC now adjust to?
Lifu, within the judgement, held that the emergence of Mark as National Chairman of ADC in addition to the opposite members of his govt violated the structure and the rules of the celebration.
A former National Deputy Chairman of ADC, Gombe, had approached the Federal High Court, Abuja, to problem the emergence of the Mark-led govt of ADC.
The plaintiff within the swimsuit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, claimed that following the resignation of former National Chairman of ADC, Chief Ralph Nwosu, he (Gombe) was certified to imagine the celebration’s management.
He particularly prayed the court docket to restrain the Mark-led govt from parading themselves as leaders of the celebration, on the grounds that the method that produced them violated constitutional provisions in addition to ADC’s pointers.
Those sued included ADC, Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Nwosu, as first to fifth defendants, respectively.
However, the defendants requested the court docket to dismiss the swimsuit for being incompetent and missing advantage, explaining that the swimsuit as constituted fell inside the inside issues of a political celebration, and subsequently outdoors the jurisdiction of the court docket.
Delivering judgement within the matter, yesterday, Lifu disagreed with the defendants, holding that their emergence as executives of ADC didn’t observe the due strategy of the regulation.
The decide subsequently granted the reliefs sought by the plaintiff and declared as unconstitutional, illegal, null and void, all actions and choices taken by the Mark-led govt on behalf of the celebration.
The ruling got here with grave implications, because the congresses and conference that produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and different candidates vying for elective places of work each on the state and federal ranges had been carried out by the Mark-led nationwide govt.
Atiku: It’s Panic from Sokoto Rally
Atiku condemned the court docket judgement that eliminated the Mark management of ADC, saying it’s a panic response to Wednesday’s Sokoto rally by ADC, which attracted an enormous crowd of supporters.
Describing it as a calculated try and weaken ADC and frustrate his candidacy, Atiku, in an announcement by Director of Strategic Communication of ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, mentioned the timing of the judgement was telling.
According to the assertion, “It came barely a day after a mammoth crowd turned out in Sokoto to welcome him and attend the launch of the ADC campaign.
“The people of Sokoto came out in their thousands because they are hungry for change and believe in our promise to make life affordable again.
“What we witnessed in Sokoto is only the beginning. The people of Kebbi will have their say, and so will Nigerians across the country as our campaign moves forward.”
Atiku said, “My roots are in Northern Nigeria, however my candidacy belongs to all Nigerians. There is a distinction between being from the north and being a candidate just for the north.
“Hunger and hardship don’t respect regional boundaries. Nigerians throughout the nation are struggling beneath this authorities, they usually deserve a frontrunner with a reputable plan to make life reasonably priced once more.
“The timing of this judgement is no coincidence. It is part of a strategy to weaken my support in the north and frustrate a campaign whose message is resonating across the country.
“But the ruling party’s greatest miscalculation is to assume that my support ends in the north. What we saw in Sokoto, what we will see in Kebbi and across the country, is the strength of a national movement.”
Atiku mentioned the judgement additionally raised severe authorized considerations, stressing, “Justice Musa Liman of the identical Federal High Court had already dismissed the problem to the David Mark-led management in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025.
“The court docket upheld the defendants’ objections on jurisdiction, standing and the failure to exhaust inside celebration treatments, and resolved the substantive points of their favour.
“Why, after that judgement, was another case filed to reopen the same dispute? This is a calculated attempt to circumvent a subsisting judgement. We will challenge this judicial manoeuvre at the Court of Appeal.”
Atiku urged ADC supporters to stay calm and law-abiding and to not let the judgement weaken the momentum generated in Sokoto, saying the marketing campaign practice is already in Kebbi and would proceed throughout the nation.
He said, “Our journey to rescue Nigeria from the hardship imposed by the APC government is a long one. Our Affordable Life campaign will continue because Nigerians deserve relief from this crushing cost-of-living crisis.
“We urge our supporters to remain resolute, take our message from house to house and door to door, and stay peaceful and focused. There is no shaking.”
ADC: APC Wants to Set Nigeria on Fire
ADC described yesterday’s judgement by Lifu as one other determined try and cripple the opposition and deny Nigerians the proper to decide on their leaders within the forthcoming normal election.
The celebration requested its members to stay calm because the court docket judgement can be appealed
In an announcement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC mentioned the timing of the judgement, barely 24 hours after the huge turnout on the ADC presidential marketing campaign rally in Sokoto, uncovered the rising desperation of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Abdullahi said, “We have causes to imagine that the judgement had lengthy been written on this case. The Sokoto rally was merely a set off that stampeded its supply.
“Yesterday, Nigerians got here out of their tons of of 1000’s to reveal their assist for the ADC and our promise of creating life reasonably priced for them.
“Today, they are being told that the party that they support and the candidates that they have supported at all levels could be erased by the stroke of a reckless judicial pen.”
ADC questioned whether or not these behind what it known as a flawed judgement had thought-about its far-reaching implications for the nation, warning that the try and invalidate the celebration’s management might have an effect on 1000’s of candidates contesting elections on the native, state and federal ranges.
Abdullahi said, “Do these people understand what they are playing with? This is not about Atiku Abubakar or David Mark. It is about the democratic rights of Nigerians to freely choose their own leaders. It is about the rights of thousands of candidates to participate in a democratic process.”
ADC maintained that the judgement was legally indefensible and can be challenged by means of each obtainable judicial course of.
It defined, “Our objection is especially anchored on the subsisting judgement of Justice Musa Liman of the identical Federal High Court, delivered on 2 July 2026 in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, which affirmed the legitimacy of the David Mark-led NWC and directed INEC to recognise the management.
‘’It is a settled precept of Nigerian jurisprudence {that a} court docket of coordinate jurisdiction can not sit on attraction over, evaluation, fluctuate or nullify the subsisting judgement of one other court docket of equal jurisdiction.
“The ADC, subsequently, rejects any consequential orders based on a dedication that seems to ignore these basic authorized rules. However, we await the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the mentioned judgement to establish its exact phrases, scope, and operative orders.
“We have seen this script before. When they are scared that the opposition is gathering steam, they use their judges in the courts to influence legally indefensible judgements.
“But the millions of Nigerians that are hungry and waiting for them at the ballot box see right through them and will not sit down in silence while our democracy is taken away by the courts.”
ADC warned APC in opposition to pursuing a harmful try and get rid of political competitors by means of judicial controversies.
Abdullahi informed THISDAY final evening that the celebration would file for keep of execution of the judgement and likewise file attraction to the Court of Appeal in opposition to it, whereas reassuring that efforts to frustrate ADC would proceed to fail.
Kwankwasiyya: Democracy at Risk
The Kwankwasiyya Movement expressed concern over the Federal High Court judgement, saying democracy is in danger.
In an announcement by the spokesman of the group, Dr. Habeeb Mohammed, in Kano, it lamented the court docket ruling, together with the method that produced Atiku because the celebration’s presidential candidate for the 2027 elections.
The motion mentioned whereas it recognised the constitutional authority of the judiciary to adjudicate disputes, persistent authorized battles over opposition celebration management and candidate nominations had been creating uncertainty for opposition events forward of 2027.
According to the assertion, Nigeria’s democracy have to be constructed on political pluralism, institutional independence, equal remedy earlier than the regulation, and safety of residents’ rights to affiliate and take part within the electoral course of.
The Kwankwasiyya Movement acknowledged ADC’s intention to attraction the judgement and urged all events to pursue authorized treatments peacefully, permitting the appellate course of to find out excellent questions with out intimidation or political interference.
It additional warned that uncertainty across the ADC management and nominations mustn’t result in disenfranchisement of celebration members and thousands and thousands of Nigerians anticipating a aggressive 2027 election.
The assertion mentioned, “Democracy cannot thrive where political competition is weakened by institutional uncertainty, selective application of the law or the perception that state institutions are being deployed for partisan advantage.
“Our democracy must be protected. Opposition voices must be respected. The rule of law must prevail.”
CD: Nigeria Drifting Towards Dictatorship
Campaign for Democracy (CD) warned that Nigeria risked sliding into dictatorship, describing the court docket ruling sacking the ADC management as a severe menace to opposition politics and democratic competitors.
The organisation, in an announcement, alleged that the judgement, coming barely 72 days earlier than the January 16, 2027 normal election, might successfully undermine the participation of opposition candidates and deny Nigerians the chance to make significant selections on the polls.
It expressed concern that the ruling, represented a harmful improvement for Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.
CD questioned the implications of a scenario wherein disputes involving opposition events might have far-reaching penalties for his or her participation in an imminent normal election.
The organisation queried, “Is this still democracy? Is this still a country where the people choose? Or have we now entered the season where presidents are selected in courtrooms and the ballot box is only for show?”
The group said that the credibility of any authorities must be decided by its efficiency and its willingness to submit itself to the judgment of voters somewhat than by developments able to weakening its political opponents.
It challenged President Bola Tinubu and the ruling APC to permit Nigerians to evaluate his administration on the poll field, insisting that electoral competitors shouldn’t be compromised by controversies surrounding opposition events.
It requested, “Why are you afraid of Atiku? Why are you afraid of the ADC? Why are you afraid of a free contest?”
Group Cautions Judiciary, APC Against Endangering Democracy Through Courts
A coalition of Atiku Abubakar buddies beneath the auspices of United Friends of Atiku Abubakar cautioned the judiciary and APC in opposition to endangering democracy by means of the courts.
Addressing a press convention on the ADC nationwide secretariat in Abuja, the nationwide coordinator of the group, Alhaji Aliyu Audi, mentioned they had been moved by the court docket judgement by Lifu, regardless of a subsisting court docket order.
According to Audi, “We are of the idea that we’re all witnessing a harmful escalation of the absurd in our nation.
“We are issuing a stern and unequivocal warning: if this blatant institutional takeover by the incumbent administration continues, we will see that we’re staring on the imminent breakdown of democracy in Nigeria.
“Our intervention as we speak will not be a declaration that political events, leaders, or candidates are above the regulation, neither is it an argument that the judiciary has abdicated its duty to adjudicate disputes. Rather, it’s a solemn declaration that the administration of justice is being weaponised to execute a political agenda.
“We must ask a fundamental, grave question:
What is the value of an election if the options available to the electorate can be sustainably predetermined before election day through engineered institutional and judicial controversies?”
