Court voids Atiku's ticket, removes ADC's Mark-led leadership and all its 2027 candidates

A Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified Atiku Abubakar's nomination as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate and removed the party's national leadership headed by former Senate President David Mark.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Peter Lifu ruled that the Mark-led caretaker committee, which organised the primary that produced Atiku, was illegal. He also removed all national officers, including National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, and voided the list of candidates the party had submitted to INEC for the 2027 elections. The judge also ordered INEC to ignore everything that flowed from the ADC's July 2025 executive committee meeting, including its choice of candidates.

The case was filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC deputy national chairman for the North-East. He argued that he should have taken over as leader after former national chairman Ralph Nwosu resigned, and that Mark's emergence broke the party's constitution and the Electoral Act. The judge agreed.

The ADC rejected the ruling. Its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of using the courts to keep the party out of the 2027 race, and claimed, without offering evidence, that the judgment had been written in advance. He pointed to an earlier Federal High Court decision in July that upheld Mark's leadership in a separate case. The APC had not responded to the allegation.

The party says it will appeal. The dispute is expected to go all the way to the Supreme Court, which would need to rule before voting begins in January. The judgment came only a day after Atiku formally launched his campaign at a large rally in Sokoto.