RismadarVoice Reporters
November 9, 2026
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has demanded the immediate release of the certified true copy of a Federal High Court judgment affecting its national leadership and the 2027 presidential candidacy of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
The party alleged that the court had failed to provide the document despite formal applications and payment of the prescribed fees.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, described the delay as an obstruction to the party’s efforts to understand and challenge the ruling.
According to Shaibu, lawyers representing the first defendant applied for the certified judgment on November 6, while counsel for the third defendant submitted a similar request on November 5, the day the judgment was delivered.
He maintained that both applications carried the Federal High Court’s payment acknowledgement stamps.
The party further claimed that Justice Peter Lifu had announced in open court that copies of the judgment were ready.
It questioned why the document remained unavailable to the affected parties despite compliance with the application requirements.
The controversy follows the Federal High Court’s November 5 judgment nullifying the David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the ADC and invalidating decisions taken under its authority.
Those decisions included the presidential primary that produced Atiku Abubakar as the party’s candidate for the 2027 general election.
The ADC has rejected the ruling and filed an appeal, alongside an application seeking a stay of execution pending the determination of the case.
The party also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to avoid taking steps that could prejudice the pending legal proceedings.
Meanwhile, INEC has said it will examine the certified judgment before determining its response to the leadership dispute and its implications for Atiku’s candidacy.
The commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, explained that the electoral body would not base its decisions solely on media reports of court proceedings.
Haruna indicated that the matter would be considered at the commission’s next meeting after the relevant court documents had been obtained.
The ADC maintained that access to the certified judgment was necessary to establish the precise orders made by the court and pursue available legal remedies.
It called for the document’s immediate release and an explanation for the reported delay.
The Federal High Court had not publicly responded to the party’s latest allegations in the reports reviewed as of Monday evening.
