A Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under former Senate President David Mark, dismissing a suit challenging the emergence of the party's current executives.

Justice Musa Liman, in a judgment delivered on Thursday, held that the suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide lacked merit and was not justiciable, as it bordered on the internal affairs of the political party.

The court upheld the preliminary objections filed by the ADC, its former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, David Mark and the party's National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola.

Justice Liman ruled that Abejide lacked the legal standing to institute the suit, having failed to demonstrate how his rights were violated by the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.

The judge further held that the lawmaker did not exhaust the party's internal dispute resolution mechanism before approaching the court.

On the substantive issues, the court ruled that the transfer of leadership from Nwosu to Mark did not contravene the ADC constitution or relevant electoral laws.

Justice Liman held that the July 2, 2025 meeting where Nwosu handed over the party's leadership was a stakeholders' meeting that preceded the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of July 29, 2025.

He said the meeting formally produced Mark as National Chairman and Aregbesola as National Secretary in a process monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

"The handing over of the leadership of the party by Chief Ralph Nwosu to Senator David Mark did not violate the provisions of the party's constitution," the judge held.

The court consequently declared the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola as valid and in compliance with the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act.

Justice Liman also awarded N2 million in costs against Abejide in favour of each of the defendants and imposed an additional N10 million cost against his counsel in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

Abejide had asked the court to nullify Nwosu's handover of the party's leadership to Mark and Aregbesola.

He argued that their appointment was unlawful and seeking an order restraining INEC from recognising them as the ADC's National Chairman and National Secretary.

However, the court dismissed all the reliefs sought, effectively affirming the legitimacy of the Mark-led leadership of the party.