Amaechi Drops Court Case Against Atiku Over ADC Primary

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday struck out a pre-election suit filed by former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi after he decided to withdraw his legal challenge against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over the African Democratic Congress presidential primary.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik removed the case from the court’s docket after Amaechi’s lawyer informed the court that both parties had resolved the issues that led to the dispute.

Amaechi’s counsel, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, told the court that an application to discontinue the case had already been filed following the settlement reached by the parties. Based on the request, the court struck out the suit.

The former Minister of Transportation had approached the court to challenge the outcome of the ADC presidential primary held on May 25, 2026, which produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

In his suit, Amaechi argued that the primary election did not comply with provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, the ADC Constitution and the party’s guidelines for conducting primary elections. He asked the court to nullify the outcome of the exercise and prevent Atiku from presenting himself as the party’s presidential candidate.

He also sought an order stopping the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising Atiku as the ADC candidate. In addition, he requested that the court direct the party to conduct a fresh presidential primary within 14 days in line with the Electoral Act, the party’s constitution and its election guidelines.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1215/2026, listed Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission as defendants.

In the court documents, Amaechi stated that he is a registered member of the ADC in Ward 8, Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State and a registered voter qualified to contest elections. He also said he purchased the party’s presidential nomination form, completed the screening process successfully and took part in the primary election after appointing agents and coordinators to represent him across the country.

With the withdrawal of the case and the court’s decision to strike it out, the legal challenge against Atiku’s emergence as the ADC presidential candidate has come to an end.