The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed objections filed by the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress against an application by Nafiu-Bala Gombe to amend his pending lawsuit.
Justice Peter Lifu delivered the ruling on Friday, allowing Gombe, a former ADC Deputy National Chairman, to modify the reliefs contained in his originating summons.
Gombe had approached the court seeking orders restraining former Senate President David Mark and former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola from presenting themselves as the national leaders of the ADC.
Through his lawyer, Lukman Fagbemi, SAN, the plaintiff applied to amend portions of the suit, but Mark and Aregbesola opposed the request.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu described the objections as lacking merit and held that the proposed amendment was consistent with normal civil litigation procedures.
The judge said amendments could be permitted where they were intended to properly present a party’s case and prevent a possible miscarriage of justice.
He noted that the application followed a change in Gombe’s legal representation and found that the concerns raised by the defendants were unnecessary.
Justice Lifu said Mark, Aregbesola and the other defendants remained free to file counter-affidavits and make any consequential changes required in response to the amended originating summons.
The court held that the defendants had not shown how allowing the amendment would unfairly prejudice their case.
Justice Lifu consequently dismissed their objections and granted Gombe permission to amend the lawsuit.
The judge also ordered Mark and Aregbesola to each pay ₦500,000 in costs to the plaintiff.
Mark and Aregbesola had argued that permitting the changes would give Gombe an unfair advantage after he had reviewed the defence processes already filed in the case.
Mark’s counsel, Dr Suleiman Umar, SAN, submitted that the parties had already joined issues and that the amendment could undermine the principles of natural justice.
He urged the court to reject the application, claiming that it would be detrimental to his client’s defence.
Aregbesola’s lawyer, Realwan Okpanachi, also opposed the proposed amendment, arguing that it substantially altered the nature of the plaintiff’s case.
Okpanachi maintained that the ADC National Executive Committee validly changed the party’s national leadership during a meeting held on July 29, 2025.
He said the Independent National Electoral Commission received notice of the NEC meeting on July 1, in accordance with the law.
The lawyer also alleged that Gombe had initially attached an unsigned copy of the ADC constitution to his suit but later introduced a signed version after reviewing the objections filed by the defendants.
According to Aregbesola’s counsel, the amended process contained new claims, documents and exhibits that were not part of the original action.
He argued that the application was made in bad faith and amounted to an abuse of court process, particularly after the Supreme Court directed that the case should receive an accelerated hearing.
Gombe, however, maintained that he was legally entitled to make amendments required for the proper determination of the dispute, provided judgment had not been delivered.
His application was supported by eight grounds and a six-paragraph affidavit.
The defendants in the suit include the African Democratic Congress, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission and former ADC National Chairman Ralph Nwosu.
Gombe’s substantive case challenges the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola as national officers of the party.
He contends that the process through which they assumed their positions violated provisions of the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act.
The ruling only concerned Gombe’s request to amend his court filings and did not determine the substantive dispute over the party’s national leadership.
