RismadarVoice Reporters, July 28, 2026
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned a Federal High Court judgment that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Tuesday, a three-member panel of the appellate court held that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit and issue orders against the affected parties.
The panel, led by Justice Abba Mohammed, ruled that the June 15 decision of the Federal High Court was invalid because the case was instituted by an entity that lacked the legal capacity to sue.
According to the appellate court, there was no competent suit before the trial court to justify the order directing INEC to deregister the political parties.
The court also held that the Federal High Court failed to properly assess the evidence presented before it, particularly documents indicating that the affected parties had won elective positions in previous elections.
The appellate court further faulted the lower court for continuing with the matter despite an existing order directing it to suspend proceedings pending the determination of an interlocutory appeal.
It ruled that the Federal High Court should have dismissed the substantive suit for lack of jurisdiction and merit.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal upheld the separate appeals filed by the affected political parties, restored their registrations and awarded costs against the National Forum of Former Legislators, which initiated the legal action.
The political parties affected by the earlier deregistration order are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The appellate court declared that all five political parties remain legally registered and are entitled to continue their political activities.
The court had earlier, on June 16, suspended the enforcement of the Federal High Court judgment pending the determination of the appeals.
In its ruling, the appellate panel also criticised the conduct of the trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, for proceeding with the case despite an earlier order issued on May 22 directing him to stay further proceedings.
The appellate court noted that Justice Lifu had been informed of the stay order but proceeded to deliver judgment. It described the action as a serious departure from established judicial procedure and referred to previous Supreme Court decisions condemning similar conduct.
Justice Lifu had ordered INEC to deregister the five parties after ruling that they failed to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration.
The lower court also barred INEC from recognising the parties, accepting candidates sponsored by them or giving effect to their activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, was filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators.
The forum had argued that under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Electoral Act 2022 and relevant electoral regulations, INEC was required to deregister political parties that failed to meet prescribed electoral performance standards.
It alleged that the affected parties failed to secure at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or win at least one elective seat at the national, state or local government levels.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who was joined as a defendant, supported the plaintiff’s position.
However, the affected political parties and INEC challenged the ruling at the Court of Appeal, urging the appellate court to set it aside.
The Court of Appeal subsequently upheld the appeals and vacated the Federal High Court judgment in its entirety.
