ADC CRISIS: COURT DECLARES NAFIU BALA’S ADC RESIGNATION LETTER FAKE

A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a resignation letter allegedly signed by Nafiu Bala, a former Deputy National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), ruling that the document was not established as authentic.

In a judgment delivered on November 5, 2026, Justice Peter Lifu held that the signature on the disputed letter was materially different from Bala’s signatures on other documents submitted before the court.

The letter, dated May 17, 2025, was presented by the ADC as evidence that Bala had voluntarily resigned from his position. Bala, however, denied signing it, describing the signature as a forgery.

The judge said the fact that the document had been certified did not automatically establish that Bala personally signed it. He consequently rejected it as reliable evidence of his resignation.

The ruling formed part of a wider judgment in Bala’s legal challenge against the emergence of the David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the ADC.

Bala had argued that the party’s leadership transition did not comply with its constitution and the Electoral Act. The court agreed that the defendants failed to establish that the new leadership emerged through the required democratic election process.

Justice Lifu consequently nullified the relevant decisions taken at the party’s July 29, 2025 National Executive Committee meeting and restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising the disputed leadership.

The judgment also invalidated decisions arising from the caretaker committee, including the nomination of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

The ruling represents a major development in the ADC leadership crisis, although the party has indicated its intention to challenge the decision.