Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered a landmark judgment on Thursday, April 30, 2026, in the protracted leadership crisis of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), but Dumebi Kachikwu, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has made it clear that neither of the two warring factions has won the day. In a decisive clarification issued hours after the apex court’s verdict, Kachikwu declared that the Supreme Court did not recognise or endorse any faction, contrary to early interpretations by the camps of former Senate President David Mark and former Deputy National Chairman Nafiu Bala Gombe.
The ADC chieftain argued that the court’s decision to send the parties back to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing showed that all sides must still prove their legitimacy before the law.
The Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgment by a five‑member panel led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, set aside a controversial “status quo ante bellum” order previously issued by the Court of Appeal. The appellate court had directed all parties to maintain the state of affairs as they were before the dispute escalated, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) acted on that directive to remove David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as National Chairman and National Secretary from its official records on April 1.
However, the apex court ruled that the preservative order was “unnecessary, unwarranted and improper”, noting that the Court of Appeal had already dismissed a case before it and had no basis to issue such an order after proceedings had been concluded.
In his lead judgment, Justice Garba held that while courts possess inherent powers to make preservative orders to protect the subject matter of litigation, such orders cannot survive once proceedings have been “fully, conclusively and finally concluded”.
He explained that a trial court may issue such directives to prevent parties from taking steps that could foist a fait accompli, but once an appeal is determined, there is nothing left to preserve. The court consequently allowed David Mark’s appeal in part, but also dismissed an aspect challenging an ex parte order of the Federal High Court relating to service of court processes.
The Supreme Court directed the factions to return to the Federal High Court for the continuation of the substantive hearing. This means that the legal battle over the ADC’s national leadership is far from over, and the party’s ability to contest the 2027 general elections may still hang in the balance as the lower court proceeds to determine which faction, if any, is lawfully entitled to control the party.
Reacting to the judgment in Kachikwu’s statement, made available to journalists shortly after the ruling, the former presidential candidate said the apex court had displayed what he called “King Solomon’s wisdom” by refusing to be drawn into the internal crisis. “Today, the Supreme Court of Nigeria displayed King Solomon’s wisdom in refusing to be used as a tool of destabilisation by the David Mark‑led group when it directed both factions to return to the trial court for continuation of the trial,” he said. Kachikwu stressed that by vacating the order of status quo ante bellum, the court simply allowed the factions to continue their claims of leadership pending a final determination by the lower court.
“In vacating the order of status quo ante bellum, all the Supreme Court has said is that they are not stopping any of the factions from calling themselves any name they choose to call themselves, but they should allow the lower court to determine if any of the two factions is the rightful leadership of the ADC,” Kachikwu explained. He likened the situation to “two thieves claiming ownership of a stolen car”, noting that neither side has yet demonstrated a lawful basis to control the party. “In the case of Nafiu Bala and the David Mark band of adventurers, we know that none of the two parties has a rightful claim to the leadership of the party,” he declared.
Kachikwu also emphasised that the Supreme Court did not direct INEC to recognise the David Mark‑led group. He drew attention to a separate ruling by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, which upheld the tenure of existing state executive committees within the party. According to Kachikwu, that judgment reinforced his position that the factions lack legal standing. Justice Abdulmalik had ruled that the conduct of state congresses falls within the exclusive powers of the state executive committees, declaring the appointment of any alternative congress committee as unconstitutional and issuing a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from organising state congresses or convening a national convention for the party.
The ADC now returns to the Federal High Court for further proceedings, leaving the party in a state of legal uncertainty. The factions have been given no definitive victory, and the leadership question remains unresolved. Political observers note that unless the substantive matter is decided swiftly, the ADC may face serious challenges in preparing for the 2027 elections, including the conduct of primaries and the submission of candidate lists to INEC. For now, Kachikwu’s warning stands: the party is “not for sale”, and no faction has yet earned the right to speak for the ADC.
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