A’Court dismisses David Mark’s appeal in ADC leadership dispute

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by former Senate President and current National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, in the party’s ongoing leadership dispute.

Mark had challenged the September 4, 2025, ruling of Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which declined to grant injunctive relief sought in an ex parte application filed by a party chieftain, Nafiu Bala Gombe.

Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC who is laying claim to the party’s leadership, had filed the ex parte application alongside a substantive suit challenging, among other things, the emergence of Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary of the party.

He also sought orders restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Mark and Aregbesola as leaders of the ADC.

When the application was moved on September 4, 2025, Justice Nwite declined to grant the ex parte reliefs and instead directed that the respondents be put on notice to show cause why the orders sought should not be granted. The respondents in the suit include the ADC, Mark, Aregbesola, INEC, and the party’s immediate past National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, Mark approached the Court of Appeal, arguing that the trial judge had effectively refused the ex parte application and therefore lacked the jurisdiction to entertain it further. He contended that although the ruling suggested the parties be put on notice, the enrolled order indicated that the application had been refused.

However, in a judgment delivered on Thursday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, upheld a preliminary objection raised by Gombe through his legal team, led by Luka Musa Haruna (SAN), challenging the competence of the appeal.

In the lead judgment, Justice Onyemenam held that the appeal was incompetent because it was based on issues not reflected in the trial court’s actual ruling. She noted that the jurisdictional question raised by Mark was already the subject of a preliminary objection pending before the trial court and had not yet been determined.

According to the appellate court, it could not review an issue that had not first been decided by the lower court. The judge further held that Mark’s claim that Justice Nwite refused the ex parte application was not borne out by the ruling read in open court.

Justice Onyemenam also faulted Mark for relying on the enrolled order prepared by the court’s registrar rather than the judge’s ruling, stressing that the authentic record of a court’s decision is the one pronounced by the judge.

The court further held that the appeal was invalid because it was filed without obtaining the required leave of court, noting that the order directing parties to be put on notice was merely an interlocutory exercise of the trial judge’s discretionary powers in managing proceedings.

She explained that such an order could only be appealed against with the leave of either the trial court or the Court of Appeal.

The appellate court consequently dismissed the appeal as lacking merit and awarded costs of N2 million against Mark.

The court also ordered an accelerated hearing of the substantive suit pending before the Federal High Court. It directed all parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the case.

In the substantive suit, Gombe is asking the court, among other reliefs, to void the emergence of the Mark-led leadership of the ADC.

The other members of the panel, Justices Mohammed Mustapha and Okon Abang, concurred with the lead judgment.