Amaechi Withdraws Suit Challenging Atiku’s ADC Presidential Ticket, Court Strikes Out Case

The Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a pre-election suit filed by former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, challenging the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election.

The case was struck out on Friday after Amaechi’s legal team withdrew the suit, informing the court that the parties had resolved their differences.

The development comes after Amaechi emerged as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate on the ADC presidential ticket for the 2027 election, a move that appeared to mark the end of the disagreement that had earlier placed both politicians on opposite sides of the party’s presidential primary process.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik granted the withdrawal application after Amaechi’s lead counsel, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, informed the court that a formal application for discontinuance had been filed.

Okutepa told the court that the decision followed an understanding reached among the parties, following which Justice Abdulmalik ordered that the suit be struck out.

Amaechi had instituted the case against Atiku, the ADC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking to nullify the party’s presidential primary election held on May 25, which produced Atiku as its candidate.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1215/2026, the former minister argued that the primary election was conducted in breach of the Electoral Act, the ADC Constitution and the party’s guidelines for selecting candidates ahead of the 2027 general election.

He had asked the court to set aside Atiku’s emergence as the ADC presidential candidate and restrain INEC from recognising him as the party’s flag bearer.

Amaechi also sought an order compelling the ADC to conduct a fresh presidential primary election that would comply with electoral laws and the party’s internal regulations.

In his affidavit before the court, Amaechi said he participated in the primary election after purchasing the nomination form, undergoing screening and being cleared as an aspirant.

He alleged irregularities in the conduct of the election, including the failure of the party to use its membership register for accreditation and concerns over the authenticity of some result documents.

Amaechi had also challenged the outcome of the primary, where the result announced by the ADC showed Atiku winning with 1,846,370 votes, while he placed second with 504,177 votes.

With the withdrawal of the suit, the court will no longer determine the merits of the allegations raised by Amaechi regarding the conduct of the primary election.

The development removes another legal obstacle to Atiku’s ADC presidential campaign as political parties intensify preparations ahead of the 2027 general election.