The Supreme Court has dismissed an application for stay of execution filed by Senator David Mark’s legal team in the leadership dispute within the Action Democratic Congress.

The decision was delivered on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, after Mark’s counsel, Jibril Okutekpa, SAN, withdrew the application before a five-member panel led by Justice Lawal Garba.

Okutekpa told the court that INEC’s interpretation of a March 12 Court of Appeal order had left the ADC “leaderless.” He said INEC’s reliance on the appellate court’s “status quo antebellum” directive created a leadership vacuum and urged urgent action ahead of the 2027 election timetable.

Rather than grant the stay, the Supreme Court gave procedural directions to expedite the main appeal. It abridged time for filing briefs and responses due to the time-sensitive nature of the case and scheduled the substantive hearing for Tuesday, April 22, 2026.

The underlying suit was filed by Nafiu-Bala Gombe, former Deputy National Chairman, challenging the legitimacy of Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary. Gombe asked the court to restrain both from acting as party leaders and to stop INEC from recognising them.

Around April 1, 2026, INEC removed Mark and Aregbesola’s names from its portal as National Chairman and Secretary, citing the Appeal Court’s “status quo” order. The commission said it would not recognise either faction until the courts resolve the dispute.

The Supreme Court appeal is marked SC/CV/180/2026. On March 13, 2026, the Court of Appeal had earlier dismissed Mark’s appeal on procedural grounds and ordered accelerated hearing at the Federal High Court.