07, April 2026
A Katsina State High Court has issued a sweeping injunction halting all African Democratic Congress (ADC) activities in the state, effective immediately, pending the outcome of a substantive suit scheduled for April 15, 2026.
The order, granted by Justice A.K. Tukur, follows an ex parte application filed by Usman Wamba, the embattled state party chairman.
Wamba’s move is aimed at blocking his rivals, Lawan Batagarawa and Babangida Ibrahim Mahuta, from further contesting his leadership of the party in Katsina State.
The court has explicitly barred Batagarawa, Mahuta, and their associates from presenting themselves as party stakeholders or conducting any ADC activities in the state.
Furthermore, the court has restrained the ADC’s national leadership and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognizing, supervising, or participating in any congress organized by the defendants concerning the Katsina chapter of the party.
The court’s directive effectively puts a freeze on all actions related to the disputed congress, pending the hearing of the motion on notice.
The injunction also permits Wamba to serve court processes on the defendants, including those based in Abuja, through a courier service acting as a special bailiff.
The Katsina State ADC had been gearing up for a busy schedule of congresses ahead of the party’s national convention on April 14, 2026, but those plans are now on ice.
The congresses, slated to commence on April 9 at the polling unit level and progress through wards, local government areas, and the state, are effectively suspended.
The leadership tussle has split the party, with Wamba alleging attempts by Batagarawa and Mahuta to usurp his authority as state chairman.
The court’s intervention has brought an element of uncertainty to the party’s plans, with stakeholders anxiously awaiting the outcome of the April 15 hearing.
In a related development, ADC leader Mustapha Inuwa has criticized the Bola Tinubu administration, blaming it for exacerbating economic woes in Northern Nigeria, including soaring costs of goods, challenges faced by farmers and traders, and persistent insecurity affecting education and livelihoods in parts of the region.
