Court Ruling Puts Atiku's ADC Ticket Under a Cloud in Nigeria

Nigeria's Federal High Court in Abuja ruled Thursday on who legitimately leads the African Democratic Congress, and the fallout lands squarely on Atiku Abubakar's presidential hopes. Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgment, which the party immediately branded an attack. The ADC is widely seen as the strongest opposition force standing between voters and President Bola Tinubu's ruling All Progressives Congress.

The case was brought by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC national deputy chairman. He argued that installing David Mark as interim chairman was unlawful, because Mark and the other heavyweights who joined the party in 2025 were never elected at a national convention. Gombe's position: he should have taken the reins himself after the ADC's former chairman quit in 2025. Mark, a former Senate president, had stepped in as interim chair as the party cleared space for its new political stars, Abubakar included.

This isn't the court's first swing at the same fight. In July, judge Musa Liman ruled that Mark had been picked in line with Nigerian law and the party's constitution, in a case filed by yet another former ADC member. Abubakar seized on that history, asking in a statement: why, after that judgment, was another case filed to reopen the same dispute? Mark and Abubakar were among the big names who defected to the ADC in 2025, frustrated by factional infighting in the once-dominant Peoples Democratic Party.

The ADC didn't mince words about Thursday's outcome, calling it a calculated attempt to weaken the party and frustrate Abubakar's candidacy, according to the BBC. Abubakar, who served as vice-president from 1999 to 2007, is chasing the presidency for a seventh time at 79. He told supporters the matter will be resolved and urged them not to get distracted. Nigerians deserve relief from this crushing cost-of-living crisis, he said, asking them to take the message door to door and stay peaceful.

Peter Obi, the other main contender and a second-time candidate, said he was shocked by the ruling. In a statement on X headlined Do not undermine democracy, the 65-year-old argued that with a general election three months out, certainty is in the public interest. He warned that protecting opposition politics matters even more as military rule spreads across West Africa. Obi had a brief ADC stint himself before quitting earlier this year for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, partly because of the party's legal chaos. He said a president should let opposition parties thrive.

The practical mess could linger. The saga risks confusion for hundreds of ADC candidates and raises fresh questions about who has the authority to speak for them. Abubakar is betting the courts, or the clock, sort it out.