Court Recognises Bashir as ADC Candidate for Yola Federal Constituency

The Federal High Court in Abuja has recognised Abubakar Bashir as the winner of the African Democratic Congress primary for the Yola North, Yola South and Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State.

The court also nullified the nomination of the incumbent lawmaker, Abubakar Babazango, as the ADC candidate for the constituency in the 2027 general election.

Justice Chigozie S. Onah delivered the judgment on September 17, 2026, in a suit filed by Bashir against the ADC, the Independent National Electoral Commission and Babazango.

The dispute followed the party’s primary election held on May 21, 2026, after which the ADC submitted Babazango’s name as its candidate despite Bashir emerging with the highest number of votes.

Bashir won the primary with 33,931 votes, defeating six other aspirants. Zayyad Tumba came second with 16,266 votes, while Yusuf Garba polled 14,611 votes. Abubakar Mohammed received 10,035 votes, Abubakar Gabdo scored 8,022, Abdulaziz Abubakar had 4,501, while Babazango recorded 4,359 votes.

Following the primary, Bashir’s campaign alleged that there were moves to alter the result and replace his name with Babazango’s. The ADC denied the allegation and maintained that there was no plan to manipulate the outcome.

Bashir subsequently approached the court, asking it to determine whether the primary and the party’s nomination process complied with the Electoral Act, the ADC Constitution and the party’s guidelines.

He argued that his name could not be replaced with that of an aspirant who did not win the primary.

In its judgment, the court held that the process through which Babazango was accepted and presented as the winner did not comply with the ADC Constitution and its guidelines.

The judge referred to Section 12 of the ADC Guidelines for the Conduct of Primary Elections, which provides for the replacement of a declared winner only in circumstances involving the winner’s death or withdrawal from the race.

The court found that neither condition applied to Bashir and therefore ruled that the subsequent recognition of Babazango could not stand.

The court consequently nullified Babazango’s nomination and directed INEC not to recognise him as the ADC candidate for the constituency in the 2027 election.

Babazango was also barred from presenting himself as the ADC candidate for the seat.

INEC was directed to recognise Bashir as the winner of the May 21 primary and as the ADC candidate for the House of Representatives constituency. The court similarly ordered the ADC to recognise Bashir as its duly elected candidate.

Justice Onah further held that the party must comply with the Electoral Act 2026 and its own guidelines in its nomination processes and could not lawfully substitute Bashir with another aspirant under the circumstances presented before the court.

Bashir had sought N25 million as litigation costs, but the court declined to grant the amount requested. The judge instead awarded N1 million in costs against the ADC and another N1 million against Babazango.