The hearing of a suit seeking to stop the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was on Monday stalled at the Federal High Court in Abuja due to the failure to properly serve court papers on the defendants as required by law.
The presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, ordered the plaintiff to properly serve the defendants the court documents and adjourned the case until September 30 for hearing.
Named as defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CD/1819/2025 are the African Democratic Congress, Senator David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Chief Ralph Nwosu as first to fifth defendants respectively, while a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Nafiu Bala Gombe, is the plaintiff.
While former Senate President Mark is the current national chairman of the party, Aregbesola serves as the national secretary.
The plaintiff, Gombe, in an ex parte motion dated and filed on 2 September, sought three reliefs from the court.
‘An order of interim injunction restraining the 4th defendant (INEC) from recognising the 2nd (Mark) and 3rd (Aregbesola) defendants as the national chairman and national secretary of the 1st defendant (ADC) pending the hearing of the motion on notice.
‘An order of interim injunction restraining the 2nd and 3rd defendants, their cohorts, agents and privies from parading themselves as National Chairman and National Secretary of the 1st defendant, their cohorts, agents and privies pending the hearing of the motion on notice already filed and served in this matter.
‘An order restraining the 4th defendant/ respondent from recognising and or dealing with the 2nd and 3rd defendants, their agents, servants, cohorts, privies and whomsoever acting on their behalf or alone, pending the determination of the substantive suit by this honourable court’.
The ADC, in a preliminary objection filed by Shaibu Aruwa, argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit.
The lawyer, citing two grounds on which the case should be dismissed, said the cause of action related to the internal affairs of the ADC, a registered political party.
He further argued that the suit was filed in bad faith and is an abuse of the processes of the honourable court.
At the resumed sitting, only the ADC and the Independent National Electoral Commission had legal representation in court.
Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu were neither present nor represented by lawyers, despite being summoned at the previous sitting to show cause.
On 4 September, Justice Nwite had refused the application of the plaintiff seeking to stop the Mark-led leadership of the ADC pending the hearing of the substantive suit.
He declined to grant the three prayers in Gombe’s ex parte motion, moved by his counsel, Michael Agber.
Instead, Justice Nwite directed Gombe to put all the defendants on notice to show cause why the motion should not be granted, and adjourned for that purpose.
At Monday’s sitting, Agber told the court that the matter was slated for the defendants to show cause why Gombe’s prayers should not be granted.
He said all the parties had been served with the processes, including the originating motion, and that Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu were served through the first defendant (ADC).
The lawyer added that he had just received processes from the ADC earlier that morning and would require time to respond.
Aruwa, appearing for the ADC, however, challenged the mode of service on Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu.
‘The law is settled, my lord. Except that the court directed that the defendants be jointly served, the processes had not been properly served’, he said.
Justice Nwite, noting that the court’s permission ought to have been sought before service was effected in the manner it was, ordered Agber to ensure the defendants were personally served.
Aruwa further informed the court that a memorandum of conditional appearance, an affidavit to show cause and a written address had been filed, alongside a preliminary objection, on 12 September.
INEC’s counsel, Kingsley Magbuin, confirmed receipt of the plaintiff’s originating process and said the commission had also filed an affidavit to show cause.
He noted that INEC had yet to be served with the plaintiff’s motion on notice.
Justice Nwite directed Agber to serve Magbuin in the open court which he did and consequently adjourned the matter until 30 September for hearing.
