The Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified a Federal High Court judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties over allegations that they failed to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel, the appellate court held that the June 15 decision of the Federal High Court was a nullity because it was founded on an incompetent suit filed by a non-juristic entity.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Abba Mohammed ruled that the trial court wrongly assumed jurisdiction and had no legal basis to issue an order directing INEC to deregister the affected political parties.
The court held that there was no valid suit before the Federal High Court to support such far-reaching consequential orders, adding that the lower court also failed to properly evaluate evidence showing that the parties had won elective positions in previous elections.
The appellate court further found that the trial judge proceeded with the case despite an existing order directing him to stay proceedings pending the determination of an appeal.
According to the panel, the Federal High Court ought to have dismissed the suit for want of jurisdiction and lack of merit.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal restored the registrations of all five political parties and allowed their separate appeals. It also awarded costs against the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which instituted the suit.
The parties affected by the judgment are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The ruling reinforces an earlier decision of the Court of Appeal on June 16, when it stayed the execution of the Federal High Court judgment and faulted the trial judge for proceeding with the matter despite an order to halt proceedings.
The appellate court criticised Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, for allegedly disregarding its May 22 order directing him to stay proceedings pending the determination of the appeal.
The panel noted that despite being served with the order, Justice Lifu went ahead to deliver judgment. It described the action as “a form of judicial impertinence” and cited previous Supreme Court decisions holding that a judge who acts in defiance of a superior court’s order engages in “judicial rascality” and may be considered “unfit for the bench.”
In the judgment that has now been set aside, Justice Lifu ordered INEC to deregister the five political parties, holding that they failed to satisfy the constitutional requirements necessary to justify their continued existence and participation in future elections.
The trial court also restrained INEC from recognising the parties, accepting candidates nominated by them, or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general elections. It further directed the parties to stop presenting themselves as registered political parties.
The suit was filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators, which asked the court to determine whether INEC has a constitutional duty under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and relevant INEC regulations to deregister political parties that fail to meet prescribed electoral performance thresholds.
The plaintiffs argued that the five political parties had consistently failed to satisfy the constitutional benchmarks for retaining their registration, including securing at least 25 percent of votes in a state during a presidential election or winning at least one elective office at the national, state, or local government level.
They maintained that the ADC and the four other parties performed poorly in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, failing to secure seats across key levels of government. According to the former lawmakers, INEC’s continued recognition of the parties was unlawful and undermined the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.
