- As embattled Party chieftain’s case stands tall after legal arguments
The Federal High Court in Abuja has thrown spanner into the works of African Democratic Congress (ADC) after shutting down a legal bid by top party leaders to halt an upcoming overhaul of a high-stakes lawsuit filed against the Senator David Mark-led team by Nafiu-Bala Gombe.
In a decisive ruling on Friday, July 24, 2026 that may well clear the way for another round of legal shakeup within the opposition party, the court rejected an application from the Mark-led leadership to block Gombe from amending his legal challenge.
Gombe, the former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, is spearheading an aggressive courtroom battle meant to undress both Mark and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola and restrain them from posing as the legitimate executives of the now ‘fractured’ party.
The embattled ADC chieftain had, in a motion filed by his lawyer, Lukman Fagbemi (SAN), sought to amend the reliefs in his originating summons but Mark and Aregbesola raised objections to his plans.
And ruling on the matter, the presiding judge, Justice Peter Lifu, held that the objections by Mark, the ADC’s National Chairman, and Aregbesola, the National Secretary, were frivolous, baseless and without an iota of merit, noting that the amendment sought by the plaintiff, which was to give life to his case, was a normal attempt in a civil litigation to ensure that miscarriage of justice is prevented.
Additionally, Justice Lifu ruled that Gombe’s application was occasioned by a change of counsel, adding that the apprehension exhibited by Mark-led leadership was unnecessary and uncalled for.
The Judge also said that Mark and other defendants in the matter were at liberty to file counter affidavit against the amended originating summons to indicate consequential amendment to the earlier one, stressing further that after perusing the whole objections of the defendants, he was unable to see where they would be jeopardised if the amendment was granted.
Consequently, Justice Lifu dismissed the objections and allowed the amendment by the plaintiff, while also awarding a fine of N500, 000 each against Mark and Aregbesola to be paid to Gombe.
Mark and Aregbesola had opposed the attempt by Gombe to amend claims in the leadership suit filed against them and had urged Justice Lifu not to allow the amendment to the allegations against them on the ground that doing so would lead to a miscarriage of justice.
In moving the application seeking amendment to the originating summons he filed against the ADC, Mark, Aregbesola, and others, Gombe, through his lawyer, had challenged the emergence of the defendants as new national officers of the party, insisting that he had the right under the law to make any amendment necessary to ensure justice in his suit.
He had predicated the proposed amendment on eight grounds and a six-paragraph affidavit, maintaining that the law backed his decision as long as judgment had not been delivered in the matter.
The plaintiff also sued the ADC, Mark, Aregbesola, INEC and the party’s former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, submitting that the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola as the Party’s National Leaders violated the provisions of the ADC’s Constitution as well as the Electoral Act.
But Mark, represented by Dr Suleiman Umar (SAN), had vehemently opposed the application on several grounds, arguing that the parties had already joined issues and granting any amendment would give the plaintiff an undue and undeserved advantage after seeing the strength of the defence already filed and served on him.
According to Mark’s Counsel, the court should reject the plaintiff’s application, describing it as detrimental to his client and contrary to the principles of natural justice.
On his part, Aregbesola, through his counsel, Realwan Okpanachi, alleged that Gombe had changed the character of his case against the defendants through the sought amendment, even as he faulted the plaintiff’s new claims, noting that, contrary to the allegations, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ADC changed the national leadership on July 29, 2025, during a duly convened NEC meeting.
Furthermore, he argued that a notice of the NEC meeting was served on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on July 1, as required by law, thereby ensuring the legality of their emergence as party’s national leaders.
Referring to the earlier originating summons, Aregbesola said Gombe had attached an unsigned copy of the ADC constitution and, after seeing the defendants’ objections, had now introduced a signed copy in the amended process to strengthen his case.
Insisting that “he who comes to equity must come with clean hands,” Aregbesola urged Justice Lifu to reject the application on the ground that “new claims, different documents and exhibits have been introduced through the amendments.”
The defendant also argued that the proposed amendments were made in bad faith and constituted an abuse of court process because they were filed after the Supreme Court judgment directing an accelerated hearing of the matter, urging the judge to hold that the sought amendments lacked merit and should be dismissed. – With NAN report
