ADC gets 97 lawyers to defend interim leaders in court

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, the political platform driving the 2027 coalition, has announced that at least 97 lawyers are ready to represent the party in an ongoing court case.

In a statement issued by its media unit on Tuesday, the ADC accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of sponsoring a lawsuit using the names of individuals who are not members of the ADC to challenge the party and its interim leadership.

On Monday, three dissatisfied members of the ADC filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the removal of Senator David Mark as the party’s interim leader.

The plaintiffs, Adeyemi Emmanuel, Ayodeji Victor Tolu, and Haruna Ismaila, also contested the legitimacy of Mark and others serving as interim leaders, arguing that the transfer of the party’s leadership to those involved in the coalition arrangement may have violated an existing court judgement.

In the case marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1328, the ADC is listed as the first defendant, with the Independent National Electoral Commission and the party’s immediate past National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, named as the second and third defendants.

Mark (Interim National Chairman), former interior minister, Rauf Aregbesola (Interim National Secretary), and Ex-Minister of Sports Bolaji Abdullahi (Interim National Publicity Secretary) are listed as the fourth, fifth, and sixth defendants, respectively.

In response, the ADC claimed that the individuals whose names were used by the APC to file the suit are not listed in the party’s physical or digital membership records in either Kogi or Nasarawa State.

The statement read in part, “The ADC accused the APC of deceiving Nigerians by using the names of non-ADC members to file a suit against the party and its interim leadership.

“The party alleged that the names which the APC used to file their suit were neither in the ADC physical nor digital registers in Kogi or Nasarawa State.

“It smacks of desperation that a party elected in charge of the lives of no fewer than 200 million people can engage in shopping for the names of its citizens in pursuit of Machiavellian politics.

“Meanwhile, the National Legal Support Group for ADC has expressed its readiness to represent the ADC in the courts over the matter filed against the party and its interim officers.

“Making this revelation in Abuja yesterday, the leader of the group, Barrister Mohammed Sheriff, said no fewer than 97 lawyers have indicated their preparedness to stand for the party.