RismadarVoice Reporters
October 27, 2026
The Federal High Court in Abuja has reportedly reserved judgment in a suit challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) recognition of Adewole Adebayo as the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The suit, attributed to a faction of the SDP and its National Organising Secretary, Dr Chukwuma Ogbonna, seeks to compel the electoral commission to recognise another aspirant, Abimbola Akeem Atanda, as the party’s duly nominated candidate.
According to the plaintiffs’ account, the faction conducted a presidential primary election and national convention on May 20, 2026, in Abuja under the leadership of former national chairman Shehu Musa Gabam.
They maintain that INEC monitored the exercise and subsequently received documentation identifying Atanda as the winner.
The plaintiffs alleged that the commission nevertheless published Adebayo’s name as the SDP presidential candidate, contrary to the outcome of their nomination exercise.
They are seeking orders setting aside Adebayo’s recognition and directing INEC to publish the name of the candidate they claim was validly nominated.
The faction also wants the court to restrain the electoral commission from including Adebayo’s name on the presidential ballot.
Justice Salim Ibrahim reportedly reserved judgment after the parties adopted their final written addresses, with a date for the ruling to be communicated subsequently.
However, the dispute comes against the background of earlier judicial decisions concerning the SDP’s leadership.
In May, another faction of the party submitted Adebayo’s name to INEC following a presidential primary and national convention held in Bauchi on May 9.
The faction, led by Professor Sadiq Gombe, maintained that Adebayo emerged through a valid nomination process.
The party’s leadership dispute subsequently reached the appellate courts.
In August, the Court of Appeal set aside a Federal High Court judgment that had recognised Gabam’s leadership.
The Supreme Court also dismissed Gabam’s leadership challenge in September, leaving Gombe’s leadership position undisturbed.
Those decisions form part of the legal background to the competing claims over the party’s presidential nomination.
The latest reported suit raises questions about the validity of the rival nomination exercise and the electoral commission’s responsibilities under the Electoral Act.
No judgment has been delivered in the reported case, and the plaintiffs’ allegations remain subject to judicial determination.
