The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Wednesday reserved judgment in an appeal filed by David Mark, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to interfere in the internal affairs of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Garba Mohammed, reserved its verdict after counsel to all parties adopted their briefs of argument for and against the appeal.
Arguing for Mark, Jibrin Okutepa submitted that the issue had effectively been settled by an earlier Supreme Court judgment delivered on March 21, 2025, which held that courts lack jurisdiction over matters relating to the internal affairs of political parties.
He urged the court to allow the appeal and declare that the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Emeka Nwite, lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
However, counsel to the first respondent, Robert Emukpero, representing Nafiu Gombe, asked the court to dismiss the appeal and uphold the decision of the lower court, which ruled that the case was premature.
The dispute stems from earlier proceedings at the Court of Appeal, where a three-member panel dismissed Mark’s appeal on the grounds that it was filed without leave of the trial court and was therefore incompetent.
The appellate court ordered that the matter be returned to the trial court for expeditious hearing and directed all parties to maintain the status quo.
Following that order, the electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), withdrew recognition of the ADC leadership led by Mark pending the final resolution of the dispute.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, David Mark-led ADC approached the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the appellate court’s decision and halt the enforcement of the status quo order.
After listening to arguments from both sides, Justice Garba Mohammed announced that judgment had been reserved, with a date to be communicated to the parties.
Credit: Nigerian Tribune