Appeal Court Reserves Judgment in High-Stakes Battle Over ADC, Four Other Parties’ Deregistration

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Tuesday reserved judgment in the appeals challenging the Federal High Court’s decision directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.

A three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed fixed no date for judgment after lawyers representing all parties adopted their written briefs, stating that the date for the ruling would be communicated in due course.

The appeal was filed by the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), all seeking to overturn the judgment of the Federal High Court which ordered their deregistration.

The appellate proceedings stem from the June 16 judgment of the Federal High Court, which held that the affected parties failed to satisfy the constitutional requirements for retaining their registration.

The lower court consequently directed INEC to deregister the parties, barred the electoral commission from recognising them, accepting candidates nominated by them or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general elections.

Justice Peter Lifu also restrained the parties from presenting themselves as registered political parties, holding that the suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) was meritorious.

However, the Court of Appeal had earlier, on June 16, granted a stay of execution of the judgment and faulted Justice Lifu for proceeding with the case despite an earlier appellate court order directing him to halt proceedings pending the determination of the appeal.

The appellate court described the trial judge’s action as a breach of judicial hierarchy, noting that he proceeded to deliver judgment despite being notified of its May 22 order staying proceedings. The court characterised the conduct as judicial impertinence, citing previous Supreme Court decisions condemning similar actions.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, was instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators, which argued that INEC had a constitutional obligation under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022 and its regulations to deregister political parties that fail to meet prescribed electoral performance thresholds.

According to the plaintiffs, the affected parties neither secured at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during the presidential election nor won any elective office at the federal, state or local government levels in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections.

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, arguing that continued recognition of the affected parties would violate constitutional provisions governing political parties.

Dissatisfied with the Federal High Court’s ruling, the affected political parties and INEC approached the Court of Appeal, urging it to set aside the judgment.

The appellate court’s decision is expected to determine the legal status of the five political parties ahead of preparations for the 2027 general elections.