The Supreme Court on Tuesday fixed April 22 to hear an appeal arising from the leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Naija News reports that the appeal was filed by the faction of the party led by former Senate President, Senator David Mark.
A five-member panel of the apex court, headed by Justice Mohammed Garba, adjourned the appeal marked SC/CV/180/2026 for hearing.
The court directed the Mark-led faction to file and serve all necessary legal processes on the respondents within 24 hours.
According to the court, the respondents are to file their responses within three days after receiving the processes.
It further directed that the appellants would have one day to file replies to the respondents’ submissions.
The court stressed that the filing and exchange of briefs must be completed before April 20.
Following the ruling, the Mark-led executives of the ADC, through their counsel, Jubril Okutepa (SAN), withdrew a motion seeking to stay the execution of the Court of Appeal judgment that ordered the party to maintain the status quo ante bellum.
Okutepa explained that the motion was no longer necessary since the Supreme Court had agreed to expedite the hearing of the substantive appeal.
With the withdrawal of the application, the apex court struck out the motion.
Justice Garba noted that the court was ready to hear the case immediately if all necessary documents had been filed.
“If parties were ready, we would have taken this appeal today. We need to deal with the appeal and not the motion. Ordinarily, this court does not grant an order of stay.
“The court is willing to deal with this case as soon as possible if the parties are ready,” the judge said.
Appeal Challenges Court Of Appeal Ruling
The Mark-led faction approached the Supreme Court to challenge the March 12 judgment of the Court of Appeal.
They argued that the appellate court exceeded its jurisdiction when it ordered the maintenance of the status quo based on a suit filed by aggrieved party members led by Nafiu Bala Gombe.
According to the appellants, the issue concerns the internal affairs of a political party, which they said courts should not interfere in.
Apart from Gombe, other respondents listed in the appeal include the African Democratic Congress, its National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission, and the party’s former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu.
The appeal followed a decision by INEC on April 1 to remove the names of Mark and Aregbesola from its website as the party’s National Chairman and Secretary.
The electoral body said it acted in compliance with the Court of Appeal’s order directing parties to maintain the status quo pending resolution of the dispute.
INEC also stated that it would not recognise any of the factions involved in the leadership tussle until the matter is resolved in court.
Despite the development, the Mark-led faction of the ADC has maintained that the party will proceed with its scheduled national convention.