Fact-Check: Disputed Old Letter Recast as Fresh Claim of Nafiu Bala’s ADC Resignation
Claim: A social media user, @Sarki_sultan shared a post claiming that Hon. Nafiu Bala (Nafiu Bala-Gombe), former National Deputy Chairman (North-East) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has...
Claim: A social media user, @Sarki_sultan shared a post claiming that Hon. Nafiu Bala (Nafiu Bala-Gombe), former National Deputy Chairman (North-East) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has formally resigned from the party.
Verdict: Misleading
Background
On September 2, 2025, Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former National Deputy Chairman (North-East) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), filed an ex parte application and instituted a suit at the Federal High Court challenging the legitimacy of the party leadership under the David Mark-led faction.
Following an extended legal dispute, the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, ruled on November 5, 2026, that the David Mark-led caretaker committee was illegal. The court’s judgment favoured Nafiu Bala and effectively nullified decisions taken by the committee, including the nomination of Atiku Abubakar as the ADC presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Shortly after the ruling, a social media post circulated widely, alleging that Nafiu Bala had formally resigned from the ADC. The claim was supported by a purported resignation letter, which further alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had received and officially stamped the document, thereby confirming his resignation.
The post concluded that Bala’s departure had cleared the way for the David Mark-led leadership and Atiku Abubakar’s candidacy to proceed unchallenged. See the post below:
Within hours, the post attracted significant attention, generating over 85,000 views, nearly 200 reposts, and numerous comments. While some users accepted the claim as genuine and recent, others questioned its authenticity and timing, arguing that the purported resignation predated the court judgment currently shaping the ADC leadership dispute.
For instance, @cisero81 said, “I am sure northerners have threatened to unalive him,” suggesting Bala resigned under duress.
@tioluwanimi_0 also said, “The biggest cashout of this election is Nafiu Bala! As he was cashing out from APC, Baba just secured another major cashout from ADC”, suggesting Bala received a bribe from ADC to resign.
Conversely, @OlumideOgunro disagreed with the post, saying, “All of these took place before the latest court judgment, which invalidates the leadership of David Mark and everything it claims to represent so far in the party.”
Given the ongoing appeal against the Federal High Court judgment and Nafiu Bala’s central role in the matter, NDRFactcheck examined the authenticity and context of the alleged resignation.
Verification
NDRFactcheck reviewed publicly available records related to the controversy.
An article by ADC chieftain Hajia Hadiza Mohammed, published in THISDAY on November 10, 2026, referenced the same resignation claim and noted that Nafiu Bala had already denied resigning from the party’s leadership. This immediately raised questions about the timeliness and credibility of the viral claim.
To further investigate, NDRFactcheck conducted a reverse-image search on the purported resignation letter. The search traced the document back to reports published in April 2026 by TheCable and Vanguard, in which Nafiu Bala publicly disowned the same letter.
In those reports, Bala stated:
“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.”
A closer examination of the document revealed that it was dated May 17, 2025, the same date referenced in earlier reports where Bala rejected the letter as fraudulent. This indicates that the document being circulated after the November 2026 court judgment was not new evidence but an old, disputed letter that had previously been debunked.
The recycling of the document appears to have coincided with heightened political tensions following the court ruling that invalidated the David Mark-led ADC leadership structure.
Conclusion
The claim that Hon. Nafiu Bala has recently and formally resigned from the African Democratic Congress is misleading.
The letter circulating online is dated May 17, 2025. Bala publicly disowned it in 2026, saying it was forged. No credible evidence shows that he submitted a new resignation after the Federal High Court judgment. By presenting the old, disputed letter as a recent development, the viral post misleadingly suggests that Bala has withdrawn from the ongoing ADC leadership dispute.
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