RismadarVoice Reporters
June 16, 2026
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has moved to stop the enforcement of a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
INEC, in an application before the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Tuesday, asked for a stay of execution of the ruling while also aligning itself with the political parties’ appeal against the decision.
The case stems from a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which ordered the deregistration of the parties. INEC, however, argued that the judgment was delivered despite an earlier directive of the appellate court restraining its release.
Represented by its legal team led by Senior Advocate, Haliru Mohammed, the electoral commission told a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal that it was not informed of the judgment date and only learned of the decision through media reports.
According to INEC, the Court of Appeal had previously issued an order on May 22 halting the delivery of the judgment, which had initially been scheduled for June 5.
The commission maintained that it received no official notice from the court regarding the ruling and expressed surprise at its eventual delivery.
“We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgment. We only saw it as breaking news in the media,” INEC’s counsel told the appellate court.
INEC further stated that it does not oppose the application seeking a stay of execution, effectively backing the position of the affected political parties as the legal battle continues.
