By Dennis Okechukwu
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned the Federal High Court judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties, declaring the lower court’s decision a nullity.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Tuesday by a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed, the appellate court ruled that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit, which it said was instituted by a non-juristic entity.
The court held that there was no competent suit before the trial court to justify the order compelling INEC to deregister the affected parties. It also found that the lower court failed to properly assess evidence showing that the parties had won elective positions in previous elections.
The appellate court further faulted the trial judge for proceeding with the case despite an earlier order directing a stay of proceedings pending the determination of an interlocutory appeal.
It described the action as contrary to established judicial principles, noting that the Supreme Court had previously condemned such conduct.
The court consequently set aside the June 15 judgment of the Federal High Court, restored the registration of the affected parties and awarded costs against the National Forum of Former Legislators, which instituted the suit.
The parties affected are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The appellate court affirmed that all five parties remain duly registered and legally recognised by INEC.
The court also recalled that it had earlier stayed the execution of the High Court judgment on June 16 pending the determination of the appeals.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court had ruled that the parties failed to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration and ordered INEC not to recognise them or their candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The suit, filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators, argued that the parties failed to satisfy the electoral performance benchmarks stipulated under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act 2022.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had supported the suit, maintaining that retaining the parties on the register undermined electoral integrity.
However, dissatisfied with the ruling, the affected political parties and INEC separately appealed the decision. The Court of Appeal upheld their appeals and vacated the Federal High Court judgment in its entirety.