By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
Ahead of the scheduled Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize and publish the names of candidates forwarded to it by the Senator David Mark-led national executives of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The FCT Area Council election is billed for February 21.
The court, in a judgment that was delivered by Justice Mohammed Umar, said there was sufficient evidence to establish that the ADC fulfilled all the legal requirements to warrant the inclusion of its candidates in the election.
The judgment followed a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1907/25, which was lodged before the court by 17 candidates of the ADC.
The plaintiffs specifically challenged INEC’s refusal to grant them electronic access in order to participate as contestants in various elective positions in the FCT.
Justice Umar held that the plaintiffs adduced credible evidence and proved the case against INEC beyond a reasonable doubt.
Consequently, the court directed the INEC to recognize and publish the names of the plaintiffs as candidates of the ADC for the various positions they contested in the ADC’s substitution primary election, preparatory to the 2026 FCT Area Council elections.
It further directed the INEC to give the ADC electronic access to upload names of the plaintiffs as its candidates for the various positions the plaintiffs contested for in the substitution primary election of the party preparatory to the 2026 FCT Area Council elections, by virtue of Sections 29(1), 31, 33 and 84(1)(5)(6) of the 2022 Electoral Act and the Election Guidelines of INEC.
The names the court ordered uploaded to INEC’s portal as candidates in the FCT Council poll included: Jafaru Shaibu, Ayenajeyi Yakubu, Dauda Awode, Ezra Zaki, Sunday Abraham, Ayuba Adam, Jamilu Kabiru, Nuhu Madaki, Ibrahim Ali, and Ogwuche Linus.
Others are: Chibuike Anyika, Okechukwu Ironkwe, Godwin Adoga, Agada John, Onuoha Goodness, Mahrazu Bichi and Tobias Obechina.
The plaintiffs, in a 27-paragraph affidavit deposed by one of them, Onuoha Goodness, told the court that they participated in the ADC’s primary election after the withdrawal of candidates, whose names had been uploaded to the party’s portal before the submission deadline on August 11, 2025.
They told the court that after their subsequent emergence as candidates, the ADC “made efforts to upload to our INEC Forms EC9 and EC13 categories to the portal but could not get access to do so.”
According to the plaintiffs, correspondence between ADC ICT staff and INEC ICT staff revealed that “the substitution notification letter from ADC to INEC was the issue as the access code given to ADC through her former National Chairman could not be used by the current National Chairman of the ADC since INEC did not recognize the signatures of the current National Chairman and National Secretary of the ADC, that is Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.”
The plaintiffs claimed that the ADC later wrote a letter to INEC requesting access to upload the names of its candidates for the February 21 election, but the electoral body refused to accept the letter from their lawyer, Mr. Kalu Agu.
“That INEC is hell-bent on denying ADC access to upload our names on the INEC portal”, they lamented.
Therefore, they urged the court to determine whether by provisions of the Electoral Act and Election Guidelines of INEC, it is mandatory on INEC to give electronic access to ADC to upload the names of the plaintiffs on its portal as candidates for the various positions the plaintiffs contested for in the substitution primary election of the ADC preparatory to the 2026 Federal Capital Territory Area Council Elections.
Upon the determination of the question in their favour, the plaintiffs prayed the court to order the INEC to give the ADC electronic access to upload their names and also publish the said names as candidates for the impending FCT poll.
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