The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Tuesday reserved judgment in appeals seeking to overturn the Federal High Court decision directing the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister the African Democratic Congress and four other political parties.
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A three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Abba Mohammed, reserved judgment after counsel representing all the parties adopted their respective briefs of argument.
The other political parties challenging the judgment are the Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party.
The panel said the date for judgment would be communicated to the parties.
The appeals arose from the judgment of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which directed INEC to deregister the five parties for allegedly failing to satisfy the constitutional requirements necessary for their continued recognition and participation in elections.
Before Tuesday’s hearing, the Court of Appeal had on June 16 stayed the execution of the Federal High Court judgment pending the determination of the appeals.
The appellate court also criticised Justice Lifu for proceeding to deliver judgment despite an earlier order directing him to suspend proceedings in the matter.
The Court of Appeal had on May 22 ordered the trial court to stay further proceedings pending the determination of an interlocutory appeal filed by the affected parties.
However, despite being notified of the appellate court’s directive, Justice Lifu proceeded with the case and delivered the judgment ordering their deregistration.
In its June 16 ruling, the Justice Mohammed-led panel described the trial judge’s conduct as “a form of judicial impertinence.”
The appellate court referred to previous decisions of the Supreme Court, which held that a judge who deliberately disregards the order of a superior court engages in conduct amounting to “judicial rascality” and demonstrates unfitness for the bench.
The Court of Appeal consequently suspended the operation of the Federal High Court judgment, temporarily restoring the parties’ legal status pending the resolution of their appeals.
In the judgment under appeal, Justice Lifu directed INEC to remove the ADC, APP, AA, Accord and ZLP from the register of political parties.
The court also restrained INEC from continuing to recognise the affected organisations as registered political parties.
It barred the electoral commission from accepting their candidates’ nominations, recognising their activities or permitting them to participate in the 2027 general elections and other future polls.
Justice Lifu further ordered the parties to stop presenting themselves as duly registered political parties in Nigeria.
The court held that the action filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators was meritorious and that the affected parties had failed to meet the constitutional performance thresholds for retaining their registration.
The National Forum of Former Legislators instituted the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026 against INEC and the five political parties.
The group asked the Federal High Court to determine whether INEC had a constitutional obligation to deregister political parties that failed to meet the electoral performance requirements prescribed by Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
It also relied on relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulations governing the registration and continued recognition of political parties.
The former lawmakers argued that the ADC and the four other parties had repeatedly failed to attain the minimum electoral benchmarks required to remain registered.
They maintained that a political party must secure at least 25 per cent of the votes cast in one state during a presidential election or win at least one elective seat at the national, state or local government level.
According to the plaintiffs, the five parties performed poorly during the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections conducted by INEC and failed to win the required elective seats across the different levels of government.
They argued that the parties’ continued recognition was unlawful and undermined the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who was joined as a defendant in the suit, supported the position of the National Forum of Former Legislators.
In processes filed before the Federal High Court, the AGF argued that the continued registration of political parties that had failed to meet the constitutional requirements violated the 1999 Constitution and weakened the integrity of the electoral system.
Fagbemi maintained that unless the court intervened, INEC would continue to breach its constitutional responsibility by retaining political parties that had failed to satisfy the minimum electoral performance conditions prescribed by law.
Dissatisfied with Justice Lifu’s decision, the affected parties and INEC approached the Court of Appeal and asked it to set aside the judgment.
Their appeals challenge both the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court and the legal basis upon which the deregistration order was made.
They are also contesting the validity of proceedings conducted by Justice Lifu after the Court of Appeal had directed the Federal High Court to stay further action in the case.
Following the adoption of the parties’ briefs on Tuesday, the appellate court reserved its decision.
The eventual judgment will determine whether the Federal High Court’s deregistration order will be restored or permanently set aside and whether the ADC, APP, AA, Accord and ZLP may continue to operate and participate in future elections, including the 2027 general elections.
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