Nigerian court rules opposition candidate cannot stand in elections

Several high-profile politicians joined the ADC in 2025 - disillusioned by the factional infighting in the once powerful Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Among them were Abubakar - who had served as vice-president between 1999 and 2007 when the PDP was in power - and former Senate president David Mark.

As accommodations were made for the line-up of political heavyweights, Mark took over as its interim chairman.

But Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC national deputy chairman, argued before the court that this was not lawful as Mark and others had not been elected at a national convention.

Instead, he said, he himself should have taken over the party's leadership following the resignation of the ADC's former chairman in 2025.