{"id":126757,"date":"2026-04-28T03:51:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T02:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=126757"},"modified":"2026-04-28T03:51:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T02:51:49","slug":"adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/","title":{"rendered":"ADR to Supreme Court: Uphold Constitution in ADC Leadership Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Alliance for Democratic Rights (ADR) has urged the Supreme Court to strictly uphold constitutional provisions and established legal precedents in the ongoing leadership dispute within the African Democratic Congress (ADC), warning that the credibility of the judiciary is at stake.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">ADR Leader, Olayinka Yusuf, made the remarks on Monday in Abuja.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to him, the Supreme Court faces a \u201cdefining moment\u201d in deciding whether to reaffirm constitutional limits on judicial intervention in political party affairs or succumb to what he described as mounting political pressure.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThis is not just about ADC; it is about whether Nigeria still respects the rule of law in political party management,\u201d Yusuf said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He cited Section 83 of the Electoral Act, arguing that it limits judicial interference in internal party affairs and reinforces the autonomy of political parties in resolving leadership disputes.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, legal experts note that while the Electoral Act provides internal autonomy, Nigerian courts have in several landmark decisions maintained jurisdiction where allegations involve breaches of the constitution, party constitutions, or fair hearing principles.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yusuf insisted that the Supreme Court had consistently ruled that leadership disputes within political parties are generally non-justiciable and should be resolved internally.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThe apex court has spoken clearly over the years that courts should not be dragged into internal party leadership tussles,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He further alleged that the ADC crisis has been influenced by political interests, referencing claims circulating in political circles that key political actors are backing rival factions.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to him, there are reports alleging that former House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, was linked to efforts to influence internal dynamics of the party, including claims that he directed Leke Abejide to destabilise one faction while supporting Nafiu Bala in the leadership contest.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, there has been no official confirmation of these allegations, and all individuals mentioned have yet to publicly respond to the claims.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reacting to similar allegations in earlier political disputes, a senior constitutional lawyer who requested anonymity described such claims as \u201cserious but unproven assertions that must not be allowed to prejudice judicial proceedings.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThe Supreme Court does not decide cases based on political narratives. It decides strictly on law and evidence,\u201d the lawyer added.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yusuf warned that any departure from established judicial precedent could undermine public confidence in the judiciary and damage its independence.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cIf the Supreme Court reverses itself on settled principles, it will not only weaken the judiciary but also send a dangerous signal ahead of the 2027 elections,\u201d he cautioned.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, a member of one of the ADC factions, who declined to be named, dismissed ADR\u2019s position, insisting that the matter before the court involves \u201cclear violations of the party constitution that cannot be swept under internal resolution alone.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWe are not asking the court to manage our party. We are asking it to interpret breaches of law and enforce justice,\u201d the party source said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Supreme Court had earlier reserved judgment in the ADC leadership dispute involving factions linked to former Senate President David Mark, former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, and Nafiu Bala.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A date for judgment has not yet been announced.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo The Alliance for Democratic Rights (ADR) has urged the Supreme Court to strictly uphold constitutional provisions and established legal precedents in the ongoing leadership dispute within the&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":126758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>ADR to Supreme Court: Uphold Constitution in ADC Leadership Case - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ADR to Supreme Court: Uphold Constitution in ADC Leadership Case - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Oscar Okhifo The Alliance for Democratic Rights (ADR) has urged the Supreme Court to strictly uphold constitutional provisions and established legal precedents in the ongoing leadership dispute within the&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-28T02:51:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MixCollage-22-Apr-2026-02-10-PM-990.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"ADR to Supreme Court: Uphold Constitution in ADC Leadership Case\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-28T02:51:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/\"},\"wordCount\":529,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MixCollage-22-Apr-2026-02-10-PM-990.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/\",\"name\":\"ADR to Supreme Court: Uphold Constitution in ADC Leadership Case - Pointblank News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MixCollage-22-Apr-2026-02-10-PM-990.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-28T02:51:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MixCollage-22-Apr-2026-02-10-PM-990.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MixCollage-22-Apr-2026-02-10-PM-990.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1440},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ADR to Supreme Court: Uphold Constitution in ADC Leadership Case\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\",\"name\":\"Pointblank News\",\"description\":\"Just the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\",\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Our Reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ADR to Supreme Court: Uphold Constitution in ADC Leadership Case - Pointblank News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ADR to Supreme Court: Uphold Constitution in ADC Leadership Case - Pointblank News","og_description":"By Oscar Okhifo The Alliance for Democratic Rights (ADR) has urged the Supreme Court to strictly uphold constitutional provisions and established legal precedents in the ongoing leadership dispute within the&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/","og_site_name":"Pointblank News","article_published_time":"2026-04-28T02:51:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1440,"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MixCollage-22-Apr-2026-02-10-PM-990.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Our Reporter","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Our Reporter","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/"},"author":{"name":"Our Reporter","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"headline":"ADR to Supreme Court: Uphold Constitution in ADC Leadership Case","datePublished":"2026-04-28T02:51:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/"},"wordCount":529,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MixCollage-22-Apr-2026-02-10-PM-990.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/","name":"ADR to Supreme Court: Uphold Constitution in ADC Leadership Case - Pointblank News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MixCollage-22-Apr-2026-02-10-PM-990.webp","datePublished":"2026-04-28T02:51:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MixCollage-22-Apr-2026-02-10-PM-990.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MixCollage-22-Apr-2026-02-10-PM-990.webp","width":2560,"height":1440},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/adr-to-supreme-court-uphold-constitution-in-adc-leadership-case\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ADR to Supreme Court: Uphold Constitution in ADC Leadership Case"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/","name":"Pointblank News","description":"Just the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c","name":"Our Reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Our Reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126759,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126757\/revisions\/126759"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}