ADC Rejects Judgment Voiding Atiku’s Candidacy, Accuses APC Of Desperation To Cripple Opposition

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the judgment by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which sacked the Senator David Mark-led ADC leadership and invalidated the candidacy of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The party described the judgment as another desperate attempt by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to cripple the opposition and deny Nigerians the right to choose their leaders in the forthcoming 2027 general elections.

It added that the November 4 presidential campaign rally in Sokoto State sent the APC into panic. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Thursday, the party said the timing of the judgment, barely 24 hours after the massive turnout at the ADC presidential campaign rally in Sokoto, exposed what it considers the growing desperation of the APC.

“We have reasons to believe that the judgment had long been written on this case. The Sokoto rally was simply a trigger that stampeded its delivery,” it stated. “Yesterday, Nigerians came out in their hundreds of thousands to demonstrate their support for the ADC and our promise of making life affordable for them. Today, they are being told that the party that they support and the candidates that they have supported at all levels could be erased by the stroke of a reckless judicial pen.” The opposition party questioned “whether those behind the flawed judgment” had considered its far-reaching implications for the country.

It warned that the attempt to invalidate the party’s leadership could affect thousands of candidates contesting elections at the local, state and federal levels. “Do these people understand what they are playing with? This is not about Atiku Abubakar or David Mark. It is about the democratic rights of Nigerians to freely choose their own leaders. It is about the rights of thousands of candidates to participate in a democratic process,” it added.

The ADC maintained that the judgment was legally indefensible and would be challenged through every available judicial process. “Our objection is particularly anchored on the subsisting judgment of Justice Musa Liman of the same Federal High Court, delivered on 2 July 2026 in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, which affirmed the legitimacy of the David Mark-led NWC and directed INEC to recognise the leadership.

It is a settled principle of Nigerian jurisprudence that a court of coordinate jurisdiction cannot sit on appeal over, review, vary or nullify the subsisting judgment of another court of equal jurisdiction,” it said. “The ADC, therefore, rejects any consequential orders founded on a determination that appears to disregard these fundamental legal principles.

However, we await the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the said judgment to ascertain its precise terms, scope and operative orders.” Atiku (centre) is the presidential candidate of the ADC for the 2027 general elections. The ADC further accused the APC of allegedly influencing legally indefensible judgments when it is scared of the opposition. “But the millions of Nigerians that are hungry and waiting for them at the ballot box see right through them and will not sit down in silence while our democracy is taken away by the courts.” “We warn the APC: do not play with fires you cannot control.

The peace and stability of Nigeria are bigger than the ambition of any president or political party. Nobody should be so desperate to retain power that they are prepared to put the entire country at risk. This is not the time to play silly games with the stability of this country,” it said. “Nigeria belongs to Nigerians, not to the APC. The presidency is not an inheritance.

If the President thinks he has performed well in office, why is he afraid of competition? If the APC thinks that its policies and candidates are popular, why don’t they subject themselves to free and fair elections?” The party urged the judiciary not to allow itself to be used in foisting a dictatorship on Nigeria. It also called on its members across the country to remain calm and law-abiding while the party pursues all legal means to address the situation.

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday sacked the Mark-led executives of the ADC and invalidated all actions they took on behalf of the party, including the nomination of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections. Atiku, whose name was earlier published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a candidate for the presidential poll, chose a former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, as his running mate.

But Justice Lifu declared the primary election that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential flag bearer illegal. The court found merit in a suit brought before it by the aggrieved former national deputy chairman (North-East) of the party, Nafiu Bala Gombe.