Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said Nigeria’s 2027 general election must be decided by voters at the ballot box rather than through legal battles, following the Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn a Federal High Court judgment seeking the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
The appellate court’s ruling has cleared a major legal obstacle facing the ADC, allowing the party to focus on preparations for the 2027 elections without the distraction of prolonged litigation.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his media office in Abuja, Atiku praised the Court of Appeal justices for what he described as their courage, commitment to constitutional principles and dedication to justice.
He said the judgment had restored confidence in the judiciary and reinforced Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
“As the nation advances towards the 2027 general elections, political contests must be decided by the votes of Nigerians—not by contrived lawsuits seeking to achieve in the courtroom what cannot be won at the ballot box,” Atiku said.
According to the former vice president, the appellate court’s decision, alongside an earlier judgment by Justice Liman of the Federal High Court in Abuja recognising the Senator David Mark-led National Executive Committee of the ADC, has resolved the legal disputes surrounding the party’s leadership ahead of the next general election.
He said the developments confirmed the ADC’s legal standing and eligibility to participate in the 2027 polls.
The statement noted that the Court of Appeal declared the June 15 judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu a nullity, holding that the decision was issued despite a subsisting order by the appellate court directing a stay of proceedings.
It added that the appellate court found that the plaintiffs lacked the legal capacity to institute the suit and that their claims were speculative and unsupported by law.
Atiku said the court also clarified the interpretation of Section 225A of the Constitution, ruling that its provisions should be read disjunctively rather than conjunctively. He added that the suit was premature because electoral processes in Osun and Ekiti states were still ongoing when the case was filed.
He further stated that the appellate court faulted the trial court for disregarding unchallenged affidavit evidence from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which indicated that the ADC and the other affected parties had met constitutional and statutory requirements.
“Having accepted INEC’s evidence, the lower court had no legal basis to manufacture additional conditions in order to arrive at what the Court of Appeal rightly described as a perverse decision,” Atiku said.
The former vice president described the judgment as significant beyond the interest of any single political party, saying it represented a victory for constitutional democracy, the rule of law and open political competition.
“The strength of a democracy lies not in the exclusion of political opponents but in allowing the people to freely determine their leaders through the ballot,” he said.
Atiku also warned against using the judiciary and other state institutions as instruments for political manoeuvring, arguing that such actions could erode public trust and weaken Nigeria’s democratic foundations.
“The judiciary must never be transformed into a battlefield for eliminating political competitors or shrinking the democratic space,” he cautioned.
He commended the Court of Appeal for what he described as a courageous, impartial and constitutionally grounded judgment, saying the decision had strengthened confidence in the justice system and reaffirmed the supremacy of the rule of law over political interests.
