Nigeria’s Supreme Court will deliver judgments on Thursday, April 30, in two important political cases involving the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A five-member panel of the court, led by Justice Mohammed Garba, heard the cases on April 22 and reserved judgment until now.
The ADC case, marked SC/CV/180/2026, is scheduled for 2 p.m., while the time for the PDP case has not been stated.
The ADC case is about a leadership dispute between former Senate President David Mark and another group led by Nafiu Bala Gombe. David Mark is challenging a March 12 ruling by the Court of Appeal, which asked all parties to maintain the current situation.
He argues that the Court of Appeal went beyond its powers and says the issue is an internal party matter.
However, the respondents, including the ADC, its National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, have asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal. They insist that the lower court acted within its authority.
Earlier, lawyers representing the ADC wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria on April 28, asking the court to deliver its judgment quickly. They warned that any delay could affect the party’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The lawyers also expressed concern over actions taken by INEC, which they said relied on a lower court ruling to withdraw recognition of the party’s leadership. This situation, they argued, has left the ADC without a recognised leadership, even though it is still a registered political party.
They added that further delay could put the party at risk of being excluded from the elections and negatively affect its supporters.
More details are expected after the judgment is delivered.