Supreme court to hear ADC leadership dispute April 22

Nigeria’s Supreme Court has fixed April 22, 2026, for the hearing of an appeal filed by David Mark, national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), in the party’s leadership dispute.

The date was set by a five-member panel of the court led by Justice Lawal Garba after all parties adopted their processes.

The appeal, marked SC/CV/180/2026, seeks an order to stay execution of a March 12 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which dismissed Mark’s earlier appeal in the dispute involving Nafiu Bala.

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Mark is challenging the appellate court’s decision, which upheld a preliminary objection filed by Bala’s legal team led by Luka Musa Haruna (SAN).

The Court of Appeal ruled that the appeal was incompetent on the grounds that it raised issues that did not arise from the ruling of the trial court.

The appellate court’s decision followed an earlier ruling delivered on September 4, 2025, by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

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In that ruling, the court declined to grant the injunctive relief sought in an ex parte application filed by Bala.

Dissatisfied with the trial court’s decision, Mark appealed to the Court of Appeal, but the case was struck out, leading to the current appeal before the Supreme Court.

The dispute reflects a leadership crisis within the ADC, with the court expected to determine the next phase of the party’s leadership.