The Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that a resignation letter allegedly signed by former African Democratic Congress Deputy National Chairman, Nafiu Bala, was not authentic and cannot be used as evidence that he voluntarily left the position.
Justice Peter Lifu gave the ruling in his judgment delivered on Thursday, November 5, after examining the disputed document alongside other signatures attributed to Bala.
The judgment, a Certified True Copy of which was obtained on Wednesday, stated that the signature on the purported resignation letter differed materially from those on Bala’s sworn witness statements.
The judge explained that although a document may be certified as a true copy of the version held by an official authority, such certification does not automatically establish that a disputed signature is genuine.
He added that courts could compare disputed signatures with established specimens without necessarily requiring expert testimony in every case.
After comparing the signatures, Justice Lifu rejected the letter, identified as Exhibit ADC-1, as reliable evidence of Bala’s resignation.
The dispute is connected to the leadership crisis in the ADC, particularly the emergence of the faction led by former Senate President David Mark as the party’s leadership.
Bala had approached the court in September 2025, challenging the process that produced Mark as national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary.
The Mark-led faction had argued that Bala resigned from his position on May 17, 2025, and that the development was communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
However, Bala denied writing the letter, insisting that both the document and the signature attributed to him were forged.
In April 2026, he publicly disowned the resignation letter, maintaining that it did not originate from him.
The court’s decision undermines a key piece of evidence relied upon by the Mark-led faction to support its position that Bala had relinquished his office before the party’s leadership transition.
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 comply with the mandatory requirement for democratic election under Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.
He maintained that neither the powers of the party’s National Executive Committee nor the subsequent recognition of the leadership arrangement by INEC could replace compliance with the law.
The judgment has deepened the ADC’s internal leadership dispute, with the Mark-led faction rejecting the decision and indicating plans to appeal.
The legal uncertainty also poses further challenges to the party’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, particularly following the nullification of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s nomination as its presidential candidate.
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