The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Tuesday reserved judgment in the appeals seeking to set aside the Federal High Court’s decision ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Abba Mohammed, reserved judgment after all parties adopted their respective briefs of argument.
Besides the ADC, the other political parties challenging the Federal High Court’s judgment are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
It will be recalled that on June 16, the Court of Appeal granted a stay of execution of the Federal High Court’s judgment and criticized the trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, for failing to comply with the judicial hierarchy.
The appellate court held that Justice Lifu ignored its earlier order of May 22 directing him to stay proceedings pending the determination of the appeal. Despite being notified of the order, he proceeded to deliver judgment.
The Court of Appeal described his conduct as “a form of judicial impertinence,” noting that the Supreme Court had previously ruled that such conduct amounts to “judicial rascality” and is unbecoming of a judicial officer.
The Federal High Court had ordered INEC to deregister the five political parties on the grounds that they failed to meet the constitutional requirements necessary to retain their registration.
The court also restrained INEC from recognizing the affected parties, accepting nominations from them, or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general elections.
Justice Lifu further ordered the parties to cease presenting themselves as registered political parties, holding that the suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) had merit.
In Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, the NFFL argued that INEC has a constitutional obligation under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and INEC Regulations to deregister political parties that fail to meet the prescribed electoral performance thresholds.
The plaintiffs maintained that the affected parties failed to satisfy the constitutional benchmarks, including winning at least 25 percent of the votes in a state during a presidential election or securing at least one elective seat at the federal, state, or local government level.
According to the NFFL, the ADC and the four other parties failed to meet these requirements in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, making their continued recognition by INEC unlawful.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who is also a defendant in the suit, supported the plaintiffs’ position.
In his court filings, the AGF argued that allowing the parties to remain registered violates the provisions of the Constitution and undermines the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system. He further contended that INEC would continue to breach its constitutional obligations unless the court intervened.
However, dissatisfied with the Federal High Court’s decision, all the defendants, including INEC, appealed the judgment and urged the Court of Appeal to set it aside.
Justice Abba Mohammed, who led the appellate panel, stated that a date for the judgment would be communicated to all parties in due course.
