The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a controversial resignation letter allegedly written by former African Democratic Congress (ADC) Deputy National Chairman, Nafiu Bala, ruling that the document was not authentic.
Justice Peter Lifu, in his judgment delivered on Thursday, November 5, held that the disputed letter, which the faction led by former Senate President David Mark relied upon to justify its leadership transition, could not be accepted as credible evidence of Bala’s resignation.
A Certified True Copy of the judgment obtained by DAILY GAZETTE on Wednesday showed that the judge reached his decision after comparing the signature on the purported resignation letter with those on Bala’s sworn witness statements.
According to the court, the signatures were materially different, raising serious doubts about the authenticity of the document.
Justice Lifu explained that the certification of a document does not automatically establish that the person whose name appears on it actually signed it.
He maintained that although certification could confirm that a document was a true copy of the record held by an authorised institution, it could not resolve a dispute over the genuineness of a signature.
The judge consequently rejected Exhibit ADC-1, the disputed resignation letter, as evidence that Bala voluntarily relinquished his position in the party.
“I am not satisfied that Exhibit ADC-1 represents the genuine act of the plaintiff,” the judge declared.
The ruling is a significant development in the prolonged leadership crisis rocking the ADC, particularly as the Mark-led faction had relied on the alleged resignation to justify the leadership transition that produced David Mark as national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary.
Bala had approached the court in September 2025, challenging the legitimacy of the leadership arrangement.
The Mark-led faction had claimed that Bala resigned on May 17, 2025, and that his resignation was subsequently communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, Bala consistently denied writing the letter, describing it as forged and insisting that the signature on the document was not his.
In April 2026, he publicly disowned the document, declaring that neither its contents nor the signature originated from him.
Beyond the disputed resignation letter, Justice Lifu also ruled that the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola at the party’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting on July 27, 2025, had not been demonstrated to have complied with the statutory requirement for democratic election under Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.
The judge held that neither the powers of the party’s National Executive Committee nor INEC’s subsequent recognition of the leadership arrangement could replace compliance with the law.
The judgment also nullified the Mark-led leadership arrangement and the party’s nomination of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Meanwhile, the Mark-led faction has rejected the judgment and indicated plans to challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.
