The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed objections filed by the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) against an application by former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Nafiu-Bala Gombe, to amend his suit challenging the party’s leadership.
Justice Peter Lifu, who delivered the ruling on Friday, described the objections raised by Mark and the party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, as “frivolous, baseless and without an iota of merit.”
The judge held that Gombe’s request to amend his originating summons was a legitimate step in civil litigation aimed at ensuring justice and preventing a miscarriage of justice.
Justice Lifu further ruled that the amendment became necessary following a change of legal counsel and said the fears expressed by the defendants were “unnecessary and uncalled for.”
He noted that Mark, Aregbesola and the other defendants remained free to file fresh responses to the amended originating summons and make any consequential amendments to their earlier processes.
According to the court, the defendants failed to demonstrate how they would suffer any prejudice if the amendment was allowed.
The court subsequently dismissed their objections, granted Gombe’s application to amend his suit and ordered Mark and Aregbesola to each pay N500,000 in costs to the plaintiff.
Gombe is challenging the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola as the ADC’s National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, arguing that their appointments violated the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
Through his counsel, Lukman Fagbemi (SAN), Gombe argued that the law permits amendments to court processes before judgment is delivered and maintained that the changes were necessary to ensure justice.
However, counsel to Mark, Dr. Suleiman Umar (SAN), opposed the application, arguing that the parties had already joined issues and that allowing fresh amendments after reviewing the defence would hand the plaintiff an unfair advantage.
Aregbesola’s lawyer, Realwan Okpanachi, also urged the court to reject the application, contending that the plaintiff had fundamentally altered the nature of the case by introducing fresh claims and additional documents.
He maintained that the ADC’s National Executive Committee lawfully changed the party’s leadership during a meeting held on July 29, 2025, after notifying the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on July 1 in compliance with legal requirements.
Okpanachi also argued that Gombe initially relied on an unsigned copy of the ADC constitution but later introduced a signed version after seeing the defendants’ objections, describing the move as evidence of bad faith and an abuse of court process.
The suit lists the ADC, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, INEC and the party’s former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, as defendants.
Gombe is asking the court to stop Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as national leaders of the party, insisting that their emergence breached the party’s constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
(The Whistler)
