The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a purported resignation letter allegedly written by former African Democratic Congress Deputy National Chairman, Nafiu Bala, ruling that the document was not authentic.

Justice Peter Lifu, in his judgment delivered on November 5, held that the letter relied upon by the faction led by former Senate President, David Mark, to establish Bala’s resignation was not genuine.

In a Certified True Copy of the judgment obtained on Wednesday, the judge said his examination of the signature on the disputed letter alongside those on Bala’s witness statements on oath revealed material differences.

He consequently ruled that the document could not serve as reliable evidence that Bala voluntarily resigned from his position in the party.

Justice Lifu explained that the certification of a document does not automatically establish the authenticity of a disputed signature, stressing that the court must examine the document alongside other relevant evidence.

He said, “The fact that a document is certified, however, does not, by that fact alone, settle a genuine dispute as to whether the person named in it, actually signed it.

“Certification may establish the status of the copy as a true copy of the document in the custody of the certifying authority; it does not necessarily establish the authenticity of the disputed signature.”

The judge added that courts could compare disputed signatures with admitted or established specimens without necessarily requiring expert evidence in every case.

After comparing the signature on Exhibit ADC-1 with those on Bala’s sworn statements, Justice Lifu said he was not satisfied that the disputed document represented the genuine act of the plaintiff.

“I therefore reject it as reliable proof that the plaintiff voluntarily resigned from his position as Deputy National Chairman of the 1st defendant (ADC),” he ruled.

The decision is part of the protracted leadership crisis in the ADC, which culminated in the court’s nullification of the emergence of the David Mark-led leadership and the party’s nomination of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

Bala had approached the court in September 2025, challenging the legitimacy of the leadership arrangement that produced Mark as national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary.

The Mark-led faction had argued that Bala resigned from his position on May 17, 2025, and that his resignation was subsequently communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

However, Bala consistently denied authoring the letter, describing it as forged.

In April 2026, he publicly disowned the document, insisting that neither the letter nor the signature on it emanated from him.

“I wish to state that this paper did not come from me, and that is not my signature on it. The signature you see there was forged,” he had said.

Beyond rejecting the resignation letter, Justice Lifu held that the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola at the party’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting on July 27, 2025, had not been shown to comply with the mandatory requirement of democratic election under Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.

The judge maintained that the party could not rely on the powers of its National Executive Committee or INEC’s subsequent recognition of the leadership arrangement as a substitute for compliance with statutory requirements.

The ruling further weakens a major argument advanced by the Mark-led faction to justify its leadership transition and deepens the uncertainty surrounding the party’s preparations for the 2027 general election.

The faction has rejected the judgment and indicated its intention to challenge the decision at the appellate court.