A faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by former Senate President David Mark has filed a suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the restoration of the names of its top officials removed from the commission’s records.
The suit followed INEC’s removal of the names of Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary from its official portal on April 1.
In a motion filed through his lawyer, Sulaiman Usman, Mark asked the court to issue a mandatory injunction directing INEC to immediately restore the names of the party’s National Working Committee members as they were before the dispute.
The applicants are also asking the court to set aside INEC’s decision removing the names of the party’s leadership and its refusal to monitor the party’s congresses and convention pending the hearing of the case.
They further requested an order restraining INEC from interfering with the party’s leadership records or recognising any rival leadership until the case is determined.
The legal action is linked to an earlier ruling by the Court of Appeal in a dispute initiated by former deputy national chairman of the party, Nafiu Gombe.
Mark’s counsel argued that the appellate court had directed all parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum, meaning the situation as it existed before the dispute began.
According to the lawyer, INEC misinterpreted the court’s directive by removing the leadership names, thereby creating uncertainty within the party’s structure.
The applicants also filed a separate motion seeking an accelerated hearing of the case, citing the urgency of resolving the leadership dispute and its potential impact on the party’s operations and political activities.
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