The Court of Appeal in Abuja is set to hear substantive appeals today seeking to overturn a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
The appeals will be considered by a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed.
The parties challenging the judgment are the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The appellate court had, on June 25, cleared the way for a full hearing after all parties regularised their court processes during preliminary proceedings.
Earlier, on June 16, the Court of Appeal granted a stay of execution of the Federal High Court judgment and criticised the trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, for proceeding with the case despite an earlier directive to suspend proceedings.
The appellate court said Justice Lifu ignored its May 22 order directing him to halt proceedings pending the determination of the appeals.
According to the panel, the judge’s decision to proceed with the matter despite being informed of the appellate court’s directive amounted to “judicial impertinence.”
The court added that the Supreme Court had previously described such conduct as “judicial rascality,” maintaining that a judge who disregards the judicial hierarchy is unfit to remain on the bench.
Justice Lifu had ordered INEC to deregister the five political parties, ruling that they no longer met the constitutional conditions required to retain their registration.
He also restrained the electoral commission from recognising the affected parties, accepting candidates nominated by them, or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general elections.
The trial judge further directed the parties to stop presenting themselves as registered political parties after holding that the suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) had merit.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, the NFFL asked the court to determine whether INEC was constitutionally required to deregister political parties that failed to satisfy the electoral performance benchmarks provided under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022 and relevant INEC regulations.
The plaintiffs argued that the ADC and the four other parties consistently failed to meet the constitutional requirements needed to retain their registration.
According to the NFFL, the affected parties neither secured at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election nor won any elective office at the national, state or local government levels.
The forum maintained that the parties performed poorly in the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections, failing to win seats across the country.
It argued that allowing the parties to remain registered despite their poor electoral performance undermines the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who is also a defendant in the case, supported the position of the plaintiffs.
In court filings, the AGF argued that retaining the parties violated the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and weakened the country’s electoral framework.
He further contended that unless the court intervened, INEC would continue to breach its constitutional responsibility by keeping parties that no longer met the legal requirements for registration.
However, dissatisfied with the Federal High Court’s judgment, INEC and the affected political parties appealed, urging the Court of Appeal to set aside the ruling.
Court Orders ADC Chieftain To Pay N100m Over Suit Against Judges
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the National Welfare Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr Nkemakolam Ukandu, to pay N100 million after filing a suit against two judges.
Justice Salim Ibrahim directed the plaintiff to pay N50 million each to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, and Justice Peter Lifu.
The order followed an oral application by counsel to the judges, Mr J.U.K. Igwe.
The court directed that the amount be paid within 14 days.
Justice Ibrahim also struck out the suit for lack of diligent prosecution.
Ukandu had instituted the case against the two judges, alleging bias and disobedience of a Supreme Court directive relating to the leadership dispute within the ADC.
He also joined the National Judicial Council (NJC) as a defendant.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1165/2026, the plaintiff sought an order compelling the NJC to investigate allegations of corruption, abuse of judicial powers and bias against the judges.
He also challenged the reassignment of the case involving the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the ADC from Justice Emeka Nwite to Justice Lifu.
However, when the matter came up on Monday, neither Ukandu nor his counsel appeared in court.
Justice Ibrahim, who had earlier warned on June 30 that the case could be dismissed if the plaintiff failed to appear, subsequently struck out the suit and awarded punitive costs against him.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
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