On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja overturned the Federal High Court’s order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister the African Democratic Congress and four other political parties in the ADC deregistration case
In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel of justices led by Justice Abba Mohammed voided the Federal High Court’s June 15 judgment, ruling that the lower court issued the order without jurisdiction.
The appellate court ruled that the trial court improperly assumed jurisdiction and issued the order in an incompetent suit that a non-juristic body had filed.
It found no genuine suit to justify the subsequent decision compelling INEC to deregister the political parties.
The appellate court also ruled that the trial court failed to properly assess the evidence presented, noting that proof that the parties had won various elected seats in past elections was disregarded.
It found no genuine suit to justify the subsequent decision compelling INEC to deregister the political parties in the ADC deregistration matter.
As a result, the appellate court ruled that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction and merit and should have dismissed the substantive lawsuit.
The court upheld the political parties’ individual appeals, reinstated their registrations, and awarded costs against the National Forum of Former Legislators, which brought the litigation.
The ruling protects five impacted parties: the African Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party, and Zenith Labour Party.
The appellate court affirmed that all five political parties remain duly registered, bringing the ADC deregistration dispute to an end.
On June 16, the appellate court stayed the execution of the trial court’s judgment pending the outcome of the appeal.
In its ruling, the panel criticized Justice Peter Lifu’s conduct for advancing the case despite an earlier May 22 order directing him to halt proceedings pending the appeal.
Backstory…
Justice Lifu ordered INEC to deregister the five political parties after determining that they failed to meet the constitutional standards for continued existence.
He further barred INEC from recognizing the parties, accepting their candidates, or facilitating their activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The judge delivered the ruling in response to a suit that the National Forum of Former Legislators filed under case number FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026.
The plaintiff urged the court to establish whether Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and relevant regulations require INEC to deregister political parties that fail to achieve statutory electoral performance benchmarks.
The forum contended that the affected parties failed to secure at least 25% of the vote in a state during a presidential election or win a single elective seat at the national, state, or local levels, as the law requires.
It further claimed that the parties’ poor performance in the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections rendered their continued registration unlawful and damaged the integrity of the democratic process.
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), whom the plaintiff named as a defendant in the suit, supported the case, arguing that retaining the affected political parties violated constitutional provisions and jeopardized the country’s electoral integrity.
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