The Supreme Court will on Tuesday, April 14, hear an appeal by Senator David Mark, the embattled national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), seeking a stay of execution of the Court of Appeal’s March 12 judgment.
The appeal, listed as SC/CV/180/2026 — Sen. Mark v. Hon. Nafiu-Bala Gombe and four others — was set down in a hearing notice issued by the Supreme Court’s Litigation Department and sighted by the News Agency of Nigeria.
The hearing coincides with a Federal High Court (FHC) date earlier fixed for April 14 before Justice Emeka Nwite. NAN learnt the FHC may step the matter down or adjourn its proceedings pending the apex court’s ruling in line with the judicial hierarchy.
Mark named as respondents Hon. Nafiu-Bala Gombe, the ADC, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Chief Ralph Nwosu.
In a motion on notice filed by his lawyer, Realwan Okpanachi, Mark is praying the Supreme Court to: stay execution of the Court of Appeal judgment pending determination of his appeal; restrain INEC from recognising or dealing with any persons other than him and the party’s current national officers; prevent INEC from tampering with the party’s national leadership; and stay further proceedings in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025 before Justice Nwite.
Okpanachi said the Court of Appeal delivered judgment on March 12 in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/145/2026. Mark filed a notice of appeal on March 16, and the record of appeal was transmitted to the Supreme Court on March 31. The motion is brought under Sections 6(6)(a) and 233 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Order 4 Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2024, and the court’s inherent jurisdiction.
The lawyer argued in a 12-ground affidavit that one Court of Appeal order directing the parties to “maintain status quo ante bellum” has been relied on by the 1st respondent (Gombe) to write INEC and urge it not to deal with or recognise Mark and other national officers. He described those actions as an attempted enforcement of the appellate judgment and warned that, unless a stay is granted, the appeal will be rendered nugatory. He further contended that the appeal raises substantial and arguable issues and that the balance of convenience favours preserving the subject matter pending final determination.
INEC removed the names of Mark and Aregbesola from its official portal on April 1, following the Court of Appeal judgment. In response, Mark filed a motion on notice before Justice Nwite on April 7 through new counsel, Sulaiman Usman, SAN, asking the court to order INEC to restore their names and for an accelerated hearing; Justice Nwite fixed April 14 for that hearing.
The FHC suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025) was filed by Gombe, a former ADC deputy national chairman, who asked the court to restrain Mark and Aregbesola from continuing to present themselves as national chairman and national secretary. Gombe contends their emergence breached the party constitution and the Electoral Act. Earlier, on Sept. 4, 2025, Justice Nwite refused an ex-parte application by Gombe and ordered that defendants be put on notice to show cause. The Mark-led ADC later challenged the FHC’s jurisdiction at the Court of Appeal, which ordered parties to maintain the status quo pending determination of the dispute.
