Court Nullifies Babazango’s ADC Nomination, Recognises Bashir for Yola Seat
The Federal High Court in Abuja has validated Abubakar Bashir's victory in the ADC primary for Yola North/Yola South/Girei Federal Constituency, nullifying incumbent Abubakar Babazango's nomination for the 2027 elections. The court ordered INEC to recognize Bashir, citing inconsistencies with the ADC constitution and electoral guidelines regarding candidate substitution.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has recognised Abubakar Bashir as the winner of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) primary for the Yola North/Yola South/Girei Federal Constituency of Adamawa State and nullified the nomination of incumbent lawmakerAbubakar Babazango as the party’s candidate for the 2027 elections.
Justice Chigozie S. Onah delivered the judgment on September 17, 2026, following a suit filed by Bashir after his name was allegedly replaced with Babazango’s despite Bashir emerging with the highest number of votes at the May 21 primary. Bashir polled 33,931 votes, followed by Zayyad Tumba with 16,266, Yusuf Garba with 14,611, Abubakar Mohammed with 10,035, Abubakar Gabdo with 8,022, Abdulaziz Abubakar with 4,501, while Babazango recorded 4,359 votes.
The dispute intensified after Bashir’s campaign alleged that his name had been replaced with Babazango’s, prompting the ADC to deny any plan to manipulate the primary results. Bashir subsequently filed Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1166/2026, asking the court to determine whether the primary and subsequent nomination process complied with the Electoral Act, the ADC Constitution and the party’s guidelines.
Justice Onah held that the process through which Babazango’s name was accepted and published as the winner was inconsistent with the party’s guidelines, particularly Section 12 of the ADC Guidelines for the Conduct of Primary Elections, which permits substitution of a declared winner only where the winner dies or withdraws from the race; neither circumstance applied in Bashir’s case.
The court consequently set aside Babazango’s declaration and nomination, restrained him from presenting himself as the ADC candidate for the constituency and ordered INEC to recognise Bashir as both the winner of the May 21 primary and the party’s candidate for the 2027 House of Representatives election. The court also directed the ADC to recognise Bashir as its duly elected candidate, holding that the party could not lawfully nominate anyone other than the primary winner under the applicable electoral framework and its own guidelines.
Bashir had sought ₦25 million in litigation costs, but the court declined the amount and instead awarded ₦1 million each against the ADC and Babazango.