The African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by David Mark has approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, asking it to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reverse changes made to the party’s leadership records on its portal.
In a motion on notice filed before Justice Emeka Nwite, the party is seeking an order of mandatory injunction setting aside INEC’s decision to remove its National Working Committee (NWC) members from the commission’s records, as well as its refusal to monitor the party’s congresses and convention.
The applicants also urged the court to direct INEC to immediately restore and maintain the names of all members of the ADC’s NWC on its portal, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
INEC had, on April 1, removed the names of Mark (National Chairman) and Rauf Aregbesola (National Secretary) from its official website and portal.
The motion, dated and filed on April 7 by Mark’s counsel, Sulaiman Usman (SAN), is in response to the March 12 judgment of the Court of Appeal in a suit earlier instituted by Nafiu Bala Gombe before Justice Nwite.
The application, which seeks three reliefs, was brought pursuant to Order 26, Rules 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019, as well as the inherent and equitable jurisdiction of the court to grant injunctive reliefs.
The reliefs sought include: “an order of mandatory injunction, setting aside the decision, act, or directive of the respondent removing the names of the applicant’s National Working Committee from its official portal and the decision of refusal to attend or monitor the applicant’s congresses or convention pending the hearing and determination of this suit.
“An order of mandatory injunction, directing the 4th respondent (INEC) to forthwith restore and maintain records and portal, the names of Senator David Mark as National Chairman and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary, as well as all members of the National Executive Committee of the 1st defendant (ADC), as they were, prior to the institution of this suit, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
“An order of injunction, restraining the 4th defendant (INEC), whether by itself, its agents, privies or servants, from removing, altering, tampering with, or otherwise interfering with the said leadership records of the 1st defendant, recognising or giving effect to any contrary or competing claims, pending the final determination of this suit.”
