ABUJA — In a swift compliance with judicial directives, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially restored the leadership of Senator David Mark and his executive committee to its digital portal. The move follows a decisive ruling by the Supreme Court on Thursday, which dismantled the legal hurdles previously used to de-recognise the party’s leadership.
Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, the lead counsel to Senator David Mark, confirmed the update on Friday, noting that the electoral body acted “without prompting” to reflect the court’s decision. The Supreme Court had set aside a controversial Court of Appeal order that mandated the “maintenance of status quo ante bellum,” ruling that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to issue such a directive.
It was this specific “status quo” order that INEC had cited as its justification for removing Senator Mark’s team from its official records. By vacating that order, the Supreme Court effectively cleared the path for the Mark-led executive to resume its full administrative functions.
“INEC as a corporate entity has accorded respect to the decision of the Supreme Court without pretending that it was yet to be served formally,” Okutepa stated. He characterized the prompt restoration as a “commendable” victory for the rule of law, contrasting INEC’s speed with the common practice of government agencies using administrative delays to ignore unfavorable court rulings.
Despite the celebration of this procedural victory, legal experts remain cautious. The Supreme Court’s decision to set aside the interim order also included an instruction to return the substantive leadership dispute to the Federal High Court for an accelerated trial. This means that while Senator Mark is currently back on the INEC portal, the party is still locked in a legal battle that the Tinubu administration and internal rivals may continue to exploit.
Okutepa, who maintains he holds no political affiliation, used the occasion to call for a broader cultural shift toward judicial respect in Nigeria. “Too many in power have no respect for courts and court orders. In most cases, impunity reigns supreme in our land,” he remarked, urging other institutions to follow INEC’s lead in obeying the spirit of the law without waiting for formal letters or external pressure.
For the ADC, the restoration provides a much-needed window to reorganize, though the looming retrial at the Federal High Court ensures that the party remains in a high-stakes struggle for its political future.
