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The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday upheld a High Court judgment restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or participating in any state congresses organised by committees appointed by the David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a split two-to-one judgment, the appellate court affirmed the earlier ruling of the High Court, which barred the Mark-led caretaker committee from interfering with the tenure and functions of the party’s elected state executive committees.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Okon Abang, with Justice Donatus Okorowo concurring, held that there was no basis to overturn the High Court’s April 29 decision. The court agreed that the responsibility for conducting state congresses lies with duly elected state executive committees and not the party’s national caretaker leadership.
However, the head of the appellate court’s panel, Justice Abba Mohammed, dissented, holding that the dispute was an internal party matter that should not have been entertained by the court.
The case stemmed from a suit filed by aggrieved ADC members, who challenged the decision of the David Mark-led caretaker committee to appoint committees to conduct state congresses. The plaintiffs argued that the move violated the party’s constitution, insisting that only duly elected party organs had the authority to organise such congresses.
The High Court had ruled that the tenure of the ADC’s State Working Committees and State Executive Committees remained valid until properly constituted congresses and a national convention were held. It further held that neither the 1999 Constitution nor the ADC Constitution empowered the caretaker committee to appoint committees for state congresses.
Affirming that decision, the Court of Appeal held that courts could intervene in political party disputes where constitutional or statutory violations were alleged. Justice Abang said the matter went beyond the internal affairs of the party because it involved constitutional questions.
He noted that once a complaint was founded on an alleged constitutional breach, it ceased to be a purely domestic party matter and became subject to judicial review.
The appellate court also upheld the High Court’s decision dismissing objections challenging its jurisdiction and the competence of the suit, ruling that the case fell within the jurisdiction of the High Court because it involved INEC’s statutory role.
The court further held that the congresses and national convention conducted by the Mark-led caretaker committee were null and void because they were carried out in violation of a subsisting court order issued on April 14.
Consequently, the panel dismissed the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/608/2026, which the ADC lodged in order to set aside the high court judgment. The court also awarded ₦10 million in costs against the ADC.
