A High Court in Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, has dismissed a suit filed by Usman Wamba, the purported state chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), challenging the legitimacy of a rival faction led by Lawan Batagarawa and Babangida Ibrahim Mahuta. Justice A.K. Tukur ruled the court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate internal party disputes, citing Section 83(5) of the Electoral Act. "We can't interfere in party affairs," the court stated, striking out the case without determining its merits. The decision overturns an interim order issued on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, which had suspended all ADC activities in Katsina State and restrained the defendants from holding party functions. That order also prohibited the ADC national leadership and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising any congress organised by the opposing faction. The court had previously allowed service of summons on the defendants in Abuja through a courier acting as a special bailiff. With the suit dismissed, the Wamba faction's legal challenge ends, leaving the dispute to be resolved through internal party channels or alternative legal means.
The court's refusal to intervene exposes the fragility of political authority when it hinges on legal technicalities rather than institutional clarity. Usman Wamba's attempt to cement his position as ADC chairman through judicial fiat failed not because the claims were unfounded, but because the law deliberately walls off internal party conflicts from judicial oversight.
This ruling underscores how Section 83(5) of the Electoral Act effectively forces political parties to police themselves, even when factional clashes threaten to paralyse state structures. With the court stepping back, the ADC in Katsina is left to navigate a power struggle without neutral arbitration, increasing the risk of parallel structures and credential confusion ahead of future elections.
Ordinary ADC members in Katsina now face uncertainty over whose leadership to recognise, potentially weakening the party's cohesion and electoral prospects. Without a clear resolution mechanism, grassroots members bear the cost of elite disputes that are neither swiftly settled nor transparently managed.
This case fits a broader pattern in Nigerian politics where party statutes are often ignored or weaponised, and court exits on jurisdictional grounds leave voids that deepen internal rifts. The ADC's experience mirrors similar impasses in other parties, revealing a systemic flaw in how Nigeria manages intra-party democracy.
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