Members of the African Democratic Congress have protested at the Federal High Court in Abuja over the alleged delay in releasing the certified true copy of the judgment that nullified the National Working Committee led by former Senate President, David Mark.
The protesters called on the National Judicial Council to intervene, accusing the presiding judge, Justice Peter Lifu, of withholding the document despite the judgment having been delivered on November 5, 2026.
The demonstration took place on Wednesday, with the protesters demanding access to the judgment to enable them to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.
Speaking during the protest, a former Acting Chairman of the ADC in the Federal Capital Territory, Yusuf Shehu Tijani, described the judgment as a sham and questioned why its certified copy had not been released.
He said the Supreme Court had previously affirmed Mark’s leadership of the party, arguing that the latest ruling had created uncertainty within the opposition party.
Tijani urged the NJC to intervene and ensure that the court released the document to allow the affected members exercise their constitutional right to appeal.
The protest followed a petition dated November 10, submitted by members of the ADC candidates’ forum to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho.
In the petition signed by Audu Aliyu, the group alleged that its lawyers applied for the certified true copy immediately after the judgment was delivered and paid the required fees.
However, the group claimed that five days after the ruling, the document had not been released despite repeated visits to the court registry.
The petitioners argued that the delay could prevent them from challenging the judgment before relevant election deadlines.
They also alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress was pressuring the Independent National Electoral Commission to implement the judgment despite the pending efforts to obtain the certified copy.
The group asked the Chief Judge to direct the court registry to release the document within 24 hours.
The November 5 judgment nullified Mark’s emergence as ADC National Chairman, invalidated the appointment of Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary and affected decisions taken by the party under the disputed leadership.
The ruling also nullified the party’s presidential primary that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its candidate for the 2027 general elections.
The case was instituted by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, who argued that he was entitled to assume the party’s leadership following the resignation of former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu.
