Pat Stevens/
A major legal blow has struck the African Democratic Congress after a Federal High Court in Abuja restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising or participating in any congress organised by the disputed caretaker leadership of the party.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik went further to bar David Mark and other prominent figures from interfering with the tenure and functions of duly elected state executives.
The ruling is widely seen as a decisive intervention in the protracted crisis rocking the ADC, with potentially far reaching consequences for control of party structures ahead of future elections.
The case was brought by Norman Obinna and six others representing state chairpersons and executive committees, who challenged the legality of moves by the caretaker leadership to organise fresh congresses across the states.
They argued that the interim body lacked constitutional backing to undertake such actions, warning that parallel processes would destabilise the party’s internal order.
In a clear affirmation of their position, the court held that the claims were valid and grounded in law.
Justice Abdulmalik ruled that the central issue was whether the defendants, including Mark, had any authority under the party’s constitution or Nigerian law to assume the powers of elected state organs.
Relying on Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution and relevant provisions of the ADC constitution, the court found that political parties are bound to operate within democratic principles and established procedures, particularly in matters relating to leadership and tenure.
The judge dismissed arguments that the dispute was purely an internal affair beyond judicial scrutiny, stating that once a breach of constitutional or statutory provisions is alleged, the courts have both the authority and the duty to intervene.
She held that the process adopted by the caretaker leadership, including the appointment of a congress committee to organise state congresses, had no basis in the party’s constitution and was therefore invalid.
In a series of far reaching orders, the court set aside the congress committee and affirmed that only duly elected party structures have the authority to organise congresses.
It also directed that the tenure of existing state executive committees must run its full course without interference.
Crucially, INEC was restrained from recognising any congress conducted outside these constitutional provisions, effectively blocking the caretaker faction from gaining institutional legitimacy.
The judgment also bars Mark and other defendants, including Patricia Akwashiki, Bolaji Abdullahi, Rauf Aregbesola, and Oserheimen Osunbor, from taking any steps that could undermine the authority of the recognised state executives.
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