Counsel to the African Democratic Congress, Dr Alex Adum, has called on the National Judicial Council to investigate and discipline Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court over his overturned judgment ordering the deregistration of the ADC and four other political parties.
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Adum made the call on Wednesday while reacting to the decision of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which nullified the Federal High Court judgment and restored the affected parties to the register of recognised political parties.
The other affected parties are the Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS, Adum described the appellate court’s decision as a victory for constitutionalism, the rule of law and Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.
He argued that Justice Lifu failed to properly interpret Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution and did not adequately consider evidence showing that the affected political parties had satisfied the constitutional requirements for their continued registration.
“It’s now become incumbent on the National Judicial Council to activate its disciplinary procedures. We expect that this is a time for the NJC to act. The judge failed to consider the evidence that were before him, particularly with respect to the provisions of Section 225A,” Adum said.
The Court of Appeal had, in a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed, set aside the June 15, 2026 decision of the Federal High Court on the ground that it was delivered without jurisdiction.
The appellate court held that the suit was instituted by a non-juristic entity which lacked the legal capacity to commence the action and that there was consequently no competent suit upon which the deregistration order could stand.
It further held that the Federal High Court failed to properly evaluate evidence indicating that the political parties had won elective seats and therefore met at least one of the alternative conditions prescribed by Section 225A of the Constitution.
The Court of Appeal allowed the separate appeals filed by the affected political parties, restored their registration and awarded costs against the National Forum of Former Legislators, which instituted the suit.
Adum explained that the constitutional conditions for the continued registration of a political party are disjunctive rather than cumulative, meaning that a party is not required to satisfy every condition listed in Section 225A.
According to him, winning even one councillorship election is sufficient to meet the constitutional threshold and protect a party from deregistration.
“Those conditions are alternative; they are just disjunctive conditions, they are not conjunctive conditions. Even if you win a councillorship election, you have satisfied the conditions stipulated in Section 225A,” he said.
The ADC lawyer maintained that a superior court had previously settled the legal position that a political party which wins a councillorship seat satisfies the requirement under Section 225A.
He argued that Justice Lifu was bound by decisions of superior courts and ought to have applied the principle of judicial precedent when determining the case.
Adum also defended the Independent National Electoral Commission, saying the electoral body had placed evidence before the Federal High Court showing that the five parties satisfied the constitutional requirements for continued registration.
“INEC clearly stated that these five political parties have met the conditions stipulated under Section 225A,” he said.
He further noted that the Court of Appeal found that the National Forum of Former Legislators, which commenced the action, lacked juristic personality and locus standi.
“The Court of Appeal analysed the decision and was very emphatic that the people who came before the Federal High Court were people who had no juristic personality and, as such, lacked the locus standi, the legal capacity to have even instituted the action,” Adum said.
The lawyer accused the trial judge of disregarding the principle of judicial hierarchy by proceeding with the case despite an earlier directive from the Court of Appeal that proceedings should be stayed pending the determination of an interlocutory appeal.
The Court of Appeal had on May 22 directed the Federal High Court to stay further proceedings, but Justice Lifu proceeded to deliver judgment on June 15.
In its subsequent decision, the appellate court described the judge’s action as a form of “judicial impertinence” and referred to a Supreme Court position that such conduct could amount to “judicial rascality.”
Adum maintained that obedience to superior court decisions is fundamental to judicial discipline and the orderly administration of justice.
“Judicial discipline and judicial hierarchy require that once there is a pronouncement from a superior court, the most fundamental and prudent thing to do is to obey the decisions of the higher court,” he said.
He described the Court of Appeal judgment as restoring constitutional order and preventing the exclusion of five registered political parties from the 2027 general election.
“What happened yesterday in the Court of Appeal is that they returned to constitutionalism, the rule of law and multi-party democracy in Nigeria,” he said.
Adum insisted that the appellate court’s reversal should not bring the matter to an end, arguing that the NJC should examine the conduct of the trial judge and determine whether disciplinary action was warranted.
“The NJC is the only body that has the powers to activate disciplinary procedures against a sitting judicial officer. We expect that this is a time for the NJC to act,” he added.
Justice Lifu had ordered INEC to deregister the five parties after holding that they failed to satisfy the constitutional electoral-performance requirements for continued registration.
He also restrained INEC from recognising the parties, accepting candidates sponsored by them or conducting official business with them ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Court of Appeal has since vacated the judgment in its entirety and declared that the ADC, APP, AA, Accord Party and ZLP remain duly registered political parties.
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