The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Tuesday overturned the judgment of the Federal High Court that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties, declaring the lower court’s decision a nullity.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed, the appellate court held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit that culminated in the deregistration order.
The court ruled that the action was instituted by a non-juristic entity and was therefore incompetent from inception, stressing that there was no valid suit before the lower court upon which such far-reaching consequential orders could have been made.
According to the appellate court, the trial judge wrongly assumed jurisdiction and failed to properly evaluate the evidence placed before the court, particularly documents showing that the affected political parties had won elective positions in previous elections.
The court further held that the Federal High Court acted in disregard of an earlier order directing it to stay proceedings pending the determination of an interlocutory appeal.
It consequently ruled that the substantive suit ought to have been dismissed for want of jurisdiction and merit.
The appellate court allowed the separate appeals filed by the affected political parties as well as INEC, set aside the judgment of the lower court in its entirety, restored the registration of the parties, and awarded costs against the National Forum of Former Legislators, which instituted the suit.
The political parties affected by the judgment are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The court declared that all five parties remain duly registered political parties and are entitled to continue participating in Nigeria’s democratic process.
The appellate court had earlier, on June 16, granted an order staying the execution of the Federal High Court judgment pending the hearing and determination of the appeals.
In a strong criticism of the lower court, the appellate panel faulted the conduct of Justice Peter Lifu for proceeding with the case despite an earlier order issued on May 22 directing him to suspend further proceedings until the interlocutory appeal was determined.
The justices observed that although Justice Lifu’s attention had been drawn to the subsisting stay order, he nevertheless proceeded to deliver judgment.
Describing the action as “a form of judicial impertinence,” the Court of Appeal cited the position of the Supreme Court that a judge who deliberately acts in defiance of a valid court order is “unfit for the bench,” adding that such conduct amounts to “judicial rascality.”
Justice Lifu had, in the judgment delivered by the Federal High Court, directed INEC to deregister the five political parties after holding that they failed to satisfy the constitutional requirements for continued registration.
He also restrained the electoral commission from recognizing the parties, accepting candidates sponsored by them or giving effect to any of their activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, was instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators, which asked the court to determine whether INEC was constitutionally obligated under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022 and relevant regulations to deregister political parties that failed to meet stipulated electoral performance thresholds.
The forum argued that the affected parties neither secured at least 25 per cent of votes in any state during a presidential election nor won any elective office at the federal, state or local government levels as prescribed by law.
It maintained that the parties’ poor performance in the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections rendered their continued registration unconstitutional and detrimental to the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who was joined as a defendant in the suit, supported the plaintiff’s position.
He argued that retaining the affected parties despite their alleged failure to satisfy constitutional requirements was inconsistent with the law and undermined the integrity of the country’s electoral process.
Dissatisfied with the judgment of the Federal High Court, the affected political parties and INEC filed separate appeals, urging the Court of Appeal to overturn the decision.
In its final verdict on Tuesday, the appellate court upheld the appeals, vacated the judgment of the lower court in its entirety and affirmed the continued legal existence of the five political parties, clearing them to participate in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.