Appeal Court reverses order deregistering ADC, four other parties

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned a Federal High Court judgment that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties over alleged failure to meet constitutional requirements.

In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel, the appellate court held that the June 15 ruling of the Federal High Court was a nullity because it was based on an incompetent suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which it said lacked the legal capacity to institute the action.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Abba Mohammed ruled that the trial court wrongly assumed jurisdiction and issued consequential orders without a valid suit before it. He held that the Federal High Court failed to properly evaluate evidence showing that the affected parties had won elective seats in previous elections.

The appellate court also faulted the lower court for proceeding with the case despite an earlier order directing it to stay proceedings pending the determination of an appeal.

It held that the substantive suit ought to have been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and merit.

Consequently, the court restored the registration of the five political parties—the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP)—and awarded costs against the NFFL, which instituted the suit.

The appellate court had earlier, on June 16, stayed the execution of the Federal High Court judgment and criticized the trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, for ignoring its May 22 directive to suspend proceedings.

The panel described Justice Lifu’s decision to proceed with the case despite the subsisting stay order as “a form of judicial impertinence,” citing a Supreme Court position that such conduct amounts to “judicial rascality.”

The Federal High Court had ordered INEC to deregister the five parties, barred the electoral commission from recognizing them or accepting their candidates for future elections, and prohibited them from participating in activities leading to the 2027 general elections.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, was filed by the NFFL, which argued that the parties failed to satisfy the electoral performance thresholds under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and INEC regulations.

The plaintiffs claimed the parties did not secure the required electoral performance, including winning at least 25 percent of votes in a state during a presidential election or obtaining at least one elective seat at the national, state, or local government level.

They argued that the ADC and the other parties performed poorly in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, making their continued registration unlawful and detrimental to Nigeria’s electoral system.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who was joined as a defendant, supported the plaintiffs’ position, arguing that INEC was constitutionally obliged to deregister parties that failed to meet the prescribed legal requirements.

Following the Federal High Court judgment, the affected political parties and INEC appealed, leading to Tuesday’s decision that nullified the deregistration order and affirmed the continued legal status of the five parties.