Atiku to appeal judgment voiding his ADC candidacy as Obi blames APC; ruling party rejects claim

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says he will go to the Court of Appeal to overturn Thursday's Federal High Court judgment that cancelled his nomination as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate.

In the ruling, Justice Peter Lifu held that the ADC's caretaker leadership, headed by former Senate President David Mark with Rauf Aregbesola as secretary, was illegally formed, and voided its decisions, including the choice of candidates for 2027. The case was filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former deputy national chairman of the party.

Atiku's spokesman, Phrank Shaibu, said the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) was using the courts to derail the opposition, saying the timing was no coincidence. The campaign says the judgment clashes with a July ruling by Justice Musa Liman of the same court, which dismissed a similar case. The campaign's legal team plans to ask the court to suspend the judgment pending appeal, although no appeal or application had been confirmed as filed by Friday.

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), also blamed the APC. In a post on X, he described the judgment as surprising and unsettling, coming so close to the elections, and said Nigerians, not courts, should decide who leads them.

The APC's spokesman, Felix Morka, rejected the allegation and said the party would respond fully in a statement. Neither Atiku's camp nor Obi has provided evidence that the APC influenced the case.