The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Wednesday reserved judgment in an appeal filed by the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), David Mark, challenging the jurisdiction of courts to interfere in the internal affairs of the party.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Garba Mohammed, fixed judgment for a later date after counsel for all parties adopted their briefs for and against the appeal.
Counsel to Mark, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, urged the court to allow the appeal, arguing that the apex court had already settled the issue in a March 21, 2025 judgment, where it held that “no court has jurisdiction to entertain cases bordering on internal affairs of political parties.”
He therefore maintained that the Abuja Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit concerning the ADC’s internal matters.
However, counsel to the first respondent, Nafiu Gombe, Robert Emukpero, SAN, asked the court to dismiss the appeal and uphold the decision of the lower court, which ruled that Mark’s case was premature.
Earlier, the Court of Appeal had dismissed Mark’s challenge to the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, describing the appeal as premature and filed without the leave of the trial court.
The appellate court subsequently directed that the case be returned to the trial court for accelerated hearing and ordered parties to maintain the status quo.
Following that directive, the electoral body withdrew recognition of the ADC leadership led by Mark pending the outcome of the case.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Mark approached the Supreme Court to challenge both the appellate court’s decision and the order enforcing the status quo.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Garba Mohammed announced that judgment had been reserved, with a date to be communicated to the parties.
