ADC CRISIS: COURT DECLARES BALA’S RESIGNATION LETTER INAUTHENTIC
Read Time:3 Minute, 26 Second
By’ Balogun Ibrahim
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a purported resignation letter allegedly written by former African Democratic Congress Deputy National Chairman, Nafiu Bala, ruling that the document was not authentic.
In his judgment delivered on Thursday, November 5, Justice Peter Lifu held that the disputed letter, which the faction led by former Senate President David Mark relied on to establish Bala’s resignation, was not genuine.
A Certified True Copy of the judgment obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday showed that the judge compared the signature on the purported resignation letter with those on Bala’s witness statements on oath and discovered significant differences.
He consequently ruled that the document could not be accepted as evidence that Bala voluntarily resigned from his position in the party.
READ MORE…
LASTMA, FIRE SERVICE RESCUE 17 PASSENGERS FROM BURNING CNG BUS IN LAGOS
Justice Lifu explained that the certification of a document did not automatically establish the authenticity of a disputed signature, stressing that the court must examine the available evidence before reaching a conclusion.
“The fact that a document is certified, however, does not, by that fact alone, settle a genuine dispute as to whether the person named in it, actually signed it.
“Certification may establish the status of the copy as a true copy of the document in the custody of the certifying authority; it does not necessarily establish the authenticity of the disputed signature.
“The court must therefore consider the document alongside the other relevant evidence,” he held.
The judge further noted that courts could compare disputed signatures with admitted or otherwise established specimens without necessarily requiring expert testimony in every case.
He said his examination of the signature on the document tendered as Exhibit ADC-1 alongside those on Bala’s sworn statements revealed material discrepancies.
Justice Lifu consequently rejected the letter as credible evidence of Bala’s resignation.
“I am not satisfied that Exhibit ADC-1 represents the genuine act of the plaintiff.
“I therefore reject it as reliable proof that the plaintiff voluntarily resigned from his position as Deputy National Chairman of the 1st defendant (ADC),” the judge ruled.
The development is part of the legal battle over the ADC leadership, which culminated in a court judgment nullifying the emergence of the David Mark-led leadership and the party’s nomination of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Bala had approached the court in September 2025, challenging the legitimacy of the leadership arrangement that produced Mark as national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary.
The Mark-led faction had maintained that Bala resigned from his position on May 17, 2025, adding that his resignation was subsequently communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
However, Bala repeatedly denied authoring the letter, describing it as forged.
In April 2026, he publicly disowned the document, insisting that neither the letter nor the signature on it belonged to him.
“I wish to state that this paper did not come from me, and that is not my signature on it. The signature you see there was forged,” he said.
The court’s rejection of the resignation letter undermined a key argument advanced by the Mark-led faction to establish that Bala had relinquished his position before the party’s leadership transition.
Justice Lifu also held 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 elections under Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.
The judge maintained that the party could not rely on the powers of its National Executive Committee or INEC’s subsequent recognition of the leadership arrangement as substitutes for compliance with the statutory requirements.
The ruling has further deepened the ADC leadership crisis, with the Mark-led faction rejecting the judgment and indicating plans to challenge it on appeal.
The decision has also introduced further uncertainty into the party’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, particularly following the nullification of Atiku’s presidential nomination.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0