Court annuls ADC leadership and Atiku's ticket: what happens to INEC's list?

Nigeria's Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday voided the nomination of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate for the January 16, 2027 election.

Justice Peter Lifu set aside all processes that produced the party executive, led by former Senate President David Mark, and Atiku's nomination. The court ruled the interim executive committee illegal and its actions null and void.

The case was brought by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC national deputy chairman, who argued that party officials were not elected through a national convention.

The ADC rejected the ruling as a politically motivated attempt to weaken the opposition after a large campaign rally in Sokoto, and said it would challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.

Atiku had been picked as the ADC's presidential candidate with former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate. The Independent National Electoral Commission had already published his name in its records. INEC's final list contains 18 presidential candidates, including Atiku and Amaechi for the ADC.

The ruling removes, at least temporarily, one of the main opposition challengers from the race in Africa's most populous nation, just over two months before the vote. It raises questions about judicial influence over electoral outcomes, the stability of opposition alliances, and whether INEC's already-published candidate list can be changed so close to the election.

If upheld on appeal, the decision could reshape the contest. If overturned, it may deepen distrust in the process.