Supporters of the David Mark-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Monday occupied the entrance of the Federal High Court in Abuja, urging the judiciary not to allow itself to be used to stifle opposition parties in Nigeria.
The protest comes amid the ongoing legal battle between the ADC National Working Committee led by Nafiu Bala-Gombe and that headed by Senator David Mark.
The demonstrators alleged that the matter, which the Supreme Court referred back to the Federal High Court, is a ploy to distract the opposition political party.
In April, the apex court set aside an order of the Court of Appeal in Abuja directing the parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum in the leadership tussle, a decision upon which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had acted in derecognising the David Mark-led leadership of the party.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a five-member panel, the Supreme Court ordered the parties to return to the Federal High Court for an expeditious hearing of the suit filed by an aggrieved party chieftain, Nafiu Bala Gombe. The suit challenges, among other issues, the emergence of the Mark-led leadership of the party.
Following the apex court’s verdict, INEC restored Senator David Mark as National Chairman of the ADC and reinstated other principal members of the party’s National Working Committee.
The commission subsequently updated its website to reflect the party’s leadership structure, listing Mark as National Chairman and former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, as National Secretary.
Also reinstated were Mani Ahmad as National Treasurer, Akibu Dalhatu as National Financial Secretary, and Oserheimen Osunbor as National Legal Adviser.