A’Court reserves judgment in ADC, four parties’ deregistration appeals

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved its judgment on appeals filed by the African Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party, and Zenith Labour Party. These parties are challenging a Federal High Court decision that ordered their deregistration.

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The appellants are the African Democratic Congress, the Action Peoples Party, the Action Alliance, the Accord Party and the Zenith Labour Party.

A three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Abba Bello Mohammed, fixed a date for judgment after hearing arguments from the parties' counsel. The appellants are urging the court to overturn the Federal High Court's ruling, which they describe as a nullity and legally flawed. They contend that the trial judge made findings and conclusions not supported by law.

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Counsel for the Accord Party, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), urged the appellate court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court, describing it as a nullity.

The appeals stem from a judgment by Justice Peter Lifu, who ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the five parties. The court found that they failed to satisfy constitutional requirements for retaining their registration, including securing at least 25% of votes in a state during a presidential election or winning any elective office in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections.

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He argued that the trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, erred in law by reaching findings and conclusions allegedly unsupported by law.

The National Forum of Former Legislators, through its counsel Rabo Mohammed, argued that INEC has a constitutional duty under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution to deregister parties that do not meet prescribed electoral performance thresholds. The Attorney General of the Federation also supported the plaintiffs, stating that allowing the parties to remain registered undermines Nigeria's electoral system.

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The appeals stem from the judgment delivered by Justice Lifu in suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, in which he ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister the five political parties for allegedly failing to satisfy the constitutional requirements for retaining their registration.