The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved judgment in appeals challenging a Federal High Court order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five opposition political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The other affected parties are the Accord Party, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
A three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Abba Mohammed, reserved judgment on Tuesday after lawyers representing the parties adopted their written briefs and made final submissions. The panel said the parties would be notified when the judgment is ready.
The appeals were filed by the affected political parties and INEC, which were defendants in the suit at the Federal High Court.
Through separate appeals, the parties challenged the judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which ordered INEC to deregister the five parties.
The appellants’ lawyers, including Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Musibau Adetunbi, urged the Court of Appeal to set aside the lower court’s decision.
However, Yakubu Ruba, also a SAN, who represented the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), the plaintiff at the trial court, urged the appellate court to dismiss the appeals and award substantial costs against the appellants.
Appeal Court rejects AA leadership application
Before hearing the main appeals, the Court of Appeal dismissed an application by a faction of the Action Alliance seeking to replace the party’s lawyer in one of the appeals.
The faction led by Adekunle Omoaje had asked the court to remove Yakubu Mahdi as AA’s counsel and replace him with Adedola Adedoye.
The rival faction led by Kenneth Udeze opposed the application, arguing that previous court decisions recognised its leadership as the legitimate leadership of the party and that only it had the authority to appoint legal representatives for AA.
Udeze also argued that the application was an abuse of court process because the leadership dispute was already before the Supreme Court.
In a unanimous ruling, the appellate court held that Mahdi was properly briefed by the recognised leadership of the party and remained AA’s lawful counsel in the appeal.
The court declined to make any pronouncement on entries on INEC’s portal, holding that the issue did not arise from the interlocutory application before it.
It further stated that previous judgments recognising the party’s leadership remained valid and binding until determined otherwise by the Supreme Court.
The court dismissed the application and awarded N500,000 costs against the Omoaje faction.
Background
The legal battle began after the NFFL sued INEC, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), and the five political parties, asking the Federal High Court to compel the electoral commission to deregister them.
The group argued that the parties no longer met the constitutional requirements for continued registration under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution.
According to the NFFL, the parties performed poorly in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, making their continued recognition by INEC unconstitutional.
The AGF and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, supported the plaintiff’s position, arguing that INEC had a constitutional duty to deregister parties that failed to meet registration requirements.
The case attracted national attention because some of the affected parties had become political platforms for prominent opposition figures ahead of the 2027 general elections and upcoming off-cycle governorship elections.
The ADC, in particular, gained prominence after attracting former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and other opposition figures.
The Accord Party also drew attention amid Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election bid in Osun State, where the party is expected to participate in the August 15 governorship election.
Before Justice Lifu delivered judgment, the Court of Appeal had ordered a stay of further proceedings at the Federal High Court pending the determination of an interlocutory appeal.
The appeal followed Justice Lifu’s refusal of an application by Governor Adeleke to join the suit due to his political interest in the Accord Party.
Despite the appellate court’s directive, Justice Lifu delivered judgment on June 15, ordering INEC to deregister the five parties, remove them from its register and prevent them from participating in future elections unless the decision was overturned.
He held that no valid order prevented him from delivering judgment.
INEC and the affected parties subsequently appealed the ruling.
Less than 24 hours later, the Court of Appeal suspended the execution of the judgment, holding that Justice Lifu acted in disregard of its earlier order staying proceedings.
The appellate court described the action as “judicial impertinence” and “judicial rascality” before staying the deregistration order pending the determination of the appeals.
The controversy also prompted further reactions, with INEC seeking a stay of execution and a civil society organisation petitioning the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) over the judge’s conduct.
