Court of Appeal Dismisses David Mark’s ADC Leadership Appeal, Awards N2m Costs
The Court of Appeal has dismissed David Mark’s appeal in the ADC leadership dispute. It held that it could not review an issue not first decided by the lower court. It also found that Mark’s claim about a refused ex parte application was not supported by the ruling read in open court. Justice Onyemenam faulted Mark for relying on an enrolled order prepared by the registrar instead of the judge’s pronouncement. She stressed that the authentic record of a court’s decision is the one delivered by the judge. The court ruled that the appeal was incompetent because it was filed without the required leave. It noted that the order putting parties on notice was an interlocutory case-management decision. Such orders can only be appealed with leave of the trial court or the Court of Appeal. The appeal was dismissed for lacking merit, with costs of N2 million against Mark. The court ordered an accelerated hearing of the substantive suit at the Federal High Court and directed all parties to maintain the status quo. In the suit, Gombe seeks to void the emergence of the Mark-led ADC leadership. Justices Mohammed Mustapha and Okon Abang concurred.
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