A faction of the African Democratic Congress, led by Senator David Mark, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking orders to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission to reverse its decision deleting the party’s top officials from its records.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, follows the removal of the names of Mark, listed as National Chairman, and Rauf Aregbesola, National Secretary, from INEC’s official portal on April 1.
In a motion on notice dated April 7, the embattled chairman, through his counsel, Sulaiman Usman, SAN, prayed the court to issue a mandatory injunction directing the electoral body to immediately restore the names of the party’s National Working Committee members as they existed before the dispute.
The application, brought pursuant to Order 26 Rules 1 to 4 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019, as well as under the court’s inherent and equitable jurisdiction, seeks three principal reliefs.
Part of the reliefs reads, “An order of mandatory injunction, setting aside the decision, act, or directive of the respondent removing the names of the applicant’s National Working Committee from its official portal and the decision of refusal to attend or monitor the applicant’s congresses or convention pending the hearing and determination of the suit.”
The applicant also sought “an order of mandatory injunction, directing INEC to forthwith restore and maintain records of the names of Senator David Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary, as well as all members of the National Executive Committee.”
In addition, the motion is seeking “an order restraining INEC from tampering with, or otherwise interfering with, the said leadership records of the 1st defendant, recognising or giving effect to any contrary or competing claims, pending the final determination of this suit.”
