The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) removal of its top officials from official records. The case stems from INEC’s deletion of Senator David Mark’s name as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola’s name as National Secretary from its portal on April 1.
In a motion filed on April 7, Mark, represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Sulaiman Usman, requested the court to order INEC to restore the names of the party’s National Working Committee members to their previous status. The application seeks a mandatory injunction to set aside INEC’s decision and compel the commission to recognise and maintain the names of Mark, Aregbesola, and other members of the National Executive Committee.
The legal action follows a March 12 Court of Appeal judgment in a related dispute involving former deputy national chairman Nafiu Gombe. Usman argued that the appellate court had directed all parties to maintain the status quo pending resolution of the leadership dispute. He accused INEC of misinterpreting the court’s ruling by removing the names, creating confusion within the party.
“The law is settled that a mandatory injunction may be granted to restore a party to the position wrongfully altered,” Usman stated in court documents. He also requested expedited hearing of the case, warning that the ongoing leadership crisis is affecting the party’s activities and could lead to parallel structures.
Court records indicate the dispute began in September 2025 when Gombe filed a suit challenging the party’s leadership. The trial court later ordered all parties to respond, while the Court of Appeal directed that the status quo be maintained. The ADC’s legal action highlights the ongoing tensions within the party and raises questions about INEC’s role in internal party disputes.
