The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved judgment in the appeals filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties challenging a Federal High Court judgment ordering their deregistration.
A three-member panel led by Justice Abba Bello Mohammed reserved its decision on Tuesday after counsel to all parties adopted their final written addresses. The date for judgment, the court said, would be communicated to the parties.
The appeals were filed by the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and INEC following a Federal High Court ruling delivered by Justice Peter Odo Lifu.
The lower court had ordered INEC to deregister the five political parties, holding that they failed to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration. It also barred the electoral body from recognising the parties, accepting their nominations or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general elections.
The suit was instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the parties failed to satisfy the electoral performance thresholds outlined in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC regulations.
According to the NFFL, the affected parties neither secured the constitutionally required electoral performance in the 2023 general elections nor won elective seats at the federal, state or local government levels, making their continued registration unlawful.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), supported the plaintiff’s position, arguing that INEC had a constitutional duty to deregister political parties that fail to meet the stipulated legal requirements.
However, dissatisfied with the ruling, the affected political parties and INEC approached the Court of Appeal seeking to overturn the judgment.
The appellate court had earlier granted a stay of execution of the High Court’s judgment on June 16 and criticised Justice Lifu for proceeding with the matter despite an earlier order directing him to stay proceedings pending the determination of an interlocutory appeal.
After hearing arguments from all parties, the appellate court reserved judgment, with the outcome expected on a date yet to be announced.
