The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a pre-election lawsuit instituted by the former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, which contested the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential flag bearer of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik struck out the case on Friday after Amaechi’s legal counsel, Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), informed the court that the feuding parties had amicably resolved their internal differences and subsequently submitted an application to discontinue the litigation.
Following the request from Okutepa to strike out the matter, the presiding judge granted the application.
In the suit designated FHC/ABJ/CS/1215/2026, the former minister of transportation had sought a court order to nullify the ADC presidential primary election conducted on May 25, 2026.
Amaechi contended that the exercise violated Sections 77(5) and 77(6) of the Electoral Act, 2026, alongside specific provisions of the political party’s constitution and internal electoral guidelines.
The legal action dragged Atiku Abubakar, the ADC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the court as the primary defendants.
Amaechi had petitioned the court to overturn Atiku’s nomination, bar him from presenting himself as the ADC presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, and prevent INEC from recognizing his candidacy.
Furthermore, he requested an order mandating the ADC to organize a fresh presidential primary within a 14-day window in strict compliance with statutory laws and party guidelines.
Supporting his suit with an affidavit, Amaechi noted his status as a registered ADC member in Ward 8, Ubima, within the Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, adding that he duly purchased the nomination form, cleared the screening process, and participated in the primary.
He explicitly contested the official outcomes declared on May 27, which positioned Atiku as the winner with 1,846,370 votes, while Amaechi secured 504,177 votes and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen garnered 177,120 votes.
The grievance centered on allegations that the ADC bypassed its official membership register during voter accreditation, depending instead on separate provisions contained within the party’s election guidelines.
Amaechi claimed the party failed to secure a certified true copy of the register from INEC and noted that the final result declaration sheet was unsigned, undated, and completely lacked the identities or signatures of the electoral committee and his polling agents.
According to him, the party’s National Organizing Secretary had confirmed the non-use of the register in writing.
Despite escalating the petition to the party’s presidential appeal committee and writing directly to the National Chairman, Senator David Mark, Amaechi received no feedback, which prompted the initial lawsuit.
However, following the successful out-of-court resolution of the dispute by the involved parties, the court officially struck out the case.
