Court Rules Nafiu Bala’s Purported ADC Resignation Letter was Not Genuine

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that a resignation letter allegedly submitted by former African Democratic Congress (ADC) Deputy National Chairman, Nafiu Bala, was not genuine.

Justice Peter Lifu, in a judgment delivered on November 5, held that the disputed document, which the faction led by former Senate President David Mark relied on to establish Bala’s resignation, could not be accepted as authentic evidence.

The judge said he compared the signature on the purported letter with those on Bala’s sworn statements and found material differences between them.

He explained that the certification of a document did not automatically establish the authenticity of a disputed signature, stressing that the court had to examine the evidence before reaching a conclusion.

Justice Lifu consequently rejected the letter as proof that Bala had voluntarily relinquished his position as the party’s deputy national chairman.

Bala had approached the court to challenge the emergence of Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as national chairman and national secretary, respectively, following the party’s leadership transition in July 2025.

The defendants had argued that Bala resigned on May 17, 2025, before the new leadership arrangement was established. However, he repeatedly denied authoring the letter and maintained that the signature was not his.

The court also held that the process through which Mark and Aregbesola emerged had not been shown to satisfy the statutory requirement for democratic election under Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.

Justice Lifu ruled that INEC’s receipt of notice and monitoring of the party meeting could not substitute for evidence that the officers were democratically elected.

The judgment further invalidated decisions arising from the disputed leadership arrangement, deepening the ADC’s internal leadership crisis and creating uncertainty over its preparations for the 2027 general elections.