The Federal High Court in Abuja has reserved judgment in a lawsuit challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) decision to publish Adewole Adebayo as the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Justice Salim Ibrahim reserved judgment on Tuesday after listening to the final submissions of lawyers representing the parties involved in the case. The judge said the parties would be informed of the date and time for the delivery of the judgment.
The suit was instituted by the SDP and its National Organising Secretary, Chukwuma Ogbonna, who are asking the court to order INEC to recognise and publish Abimbola Atanda as the party’s duly nominated presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
According to the plaintiffs, the SDP conducted its presidential primary and national convention on May 20, 2026, in Abuja, under the leadership of Shehu Gabam, who was then claiming the position of the party’s national chairman.
They argued that INEC monitored the exercise and subsequently issued a certified true copy of its monitoring report. The plaintiffs also maintained that Atanda’s name and personal details were submitted to the electoral commission after the exercise.
However, they alleged that INEC later published Adebayo’s name as the party’s presidential candidate instead of Atanda’s. They contend that the commission’s decision violates the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The plaintiffs are seeking an order restraining INEC from recognising, accepting or publishing the name of any individual other than Atanda as the SDP’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The legal battle comes amid a prolonged leadership crisis within the SDP, with factions led by Shehu Gabam and Sadiq Gombe laying competing claims to the party’s leadership.
On May 10, a faction of the party announced Adebayo, who represented the SDP in the 2023 presidential election, as its candidate for the 2027 contest. The announcement followed a consensus arrangement reached at a national convention in Bauchi, where Gombe was also endorsed as the party’s national chairman.
In June, the Federal High Court in Abuja directed INEC to recognise Gabam as the SDP’s national chairman. However, the Court of Appeal in Abuja overturned the ruling in August, holding that the Supreme Court had previously resolved the leadership dispute in favour of the Gombe-led leadership.
The matter subsequently proceeded to the Supreme Court, which, on September 16, dismissed Gabam’s appeal after finding it lacked merit.
Following the apex court’s decision, Adebayo, who also serves as counsel to the party, described Gabam’s appeal as having “no life.”
The Federal High Court’s forthcoming judgment will address the suit challenging INEC’s publication of Adebayo as the SDP’s presidential candidate, with the plaintiffs seeking official recognition for Atanda instead.