(Supreme Court. Photo Credit: Punch news)
On Wednesday, the Nigerian Supreme Court will render decisions in two crucial political appeals concerning the leadership issues plaguing the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
The cases under “Political Appeals” have been added to the cause list for Thursday, April 30, 2026, according to our correspondent’s checks of the top court’s official website.
Subsequent investigations revealed that the verdict in the ADC case, designated SC/CV/180/2026, has been scheduled for 2:00 PM.
However, our writer was unable to verify the PDP case’s time.
In the run-up to the 2027 general elections, the planned rulings coincide with growing political unrest and legal wrangling over party structure control.
According to The PUNCH, the conflict in the ADC is centered on a lengthy leadership issue between a rival group led by Nafiu Bala Gombe and former Senate President David Mark.
Mark is contesting the Court of Appeal’s March 12 ruling, which ordered the parties to keep the status quo in the leadership struggle.
He argued that the disagreement is an internal party matter that is outside the purview of the court and that the appellate court had overreached itself.
A five-person panel chaired by Justice Mohammed Garba heard the case on April 22 and then reserved judgment.
Counsel to the ADC had already written to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, requesting that the court render a decision within three days, in a move that highlighted the stakes.
The law firm of S.E. Aruwa (SAN) & Co. cautioned in a letter dated April 28, 2026, that any delay could endanger the party’s ability to participate in the 2027 elections.
The attorneys said, “This appeal was graciously heard expeditiously on April 22, 2026, and judgment was thereafter reserved to a date to be communicated by the court.”
They expressed disapproval of INEC’s conduct, claiming that the commission had acted to “remove or de-recognise the leadership” of the party in response to a lower court order.
The ADC is now “without leadership at the moment, even though the ADC remains a recognized registered political party in Nigeria,” they claim.
The attorneys further connected the urgency to the INEC-released election schedule, stressing that compliance with statutory requirements for the 2027 elections depends on the outcome of the appeal.
The prompt delivery of the ruling in the current appeal is absolutely necessary for the ADC to fulfill these legal obligations in order to take part in the 2027 General Elections, they stated.
Millions of the party’s supporters would be deprived of their right to vote if the ruling was not delivered on time, they claimed, putting the party at “grave and irreversible risk” of being excluded from the polls.
The lawyer continued, pointing out that the party’s “entire political future” is at stake. “Justice delayed, in this particular circumstance, would amount to justice denied.”