The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside a Federal High Court judgment that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties, ruling that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
Gatekeeepers News reports rhat in an unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel, Justice Abba Mohammed held that the June 15 decision ordering the deregistration of the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) was null and void.
The appellate court ruled that the suit was incompetent because it was filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which it described as a non-juristic entity without the legal capacity to institute the action.
The Federal High Court had earlier ruled that the five parties failed to satisfy constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
It also restrained INEC from recognising the parties, accepting nominations from them or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general election. The judgment followed a suit filed by the NFFL, which argued that the parties no longer met the constitutional thresholds for registration.
However, the Court of Appeal held that there was no valid suit before the lower court upon which such far-reaching orders could have been made. It also faulted the trial judge for ignoring evidence showing that the affected parties had won elective offices in previous elections and for proceeding with the matter despite an existing order directing the court to stay proceedings pending the determination of an appeal.
Consequently, the appellate court allowed the separate appeals filed by the five political parties, restored their registration and awarded costs against the NFFL.
Following the judgment, former Vice-President and ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, described the ruling as a victory for constitutional democracy and the rule of law, saying it had removed all legal obstacles to the party’s participation in the 2027 general election.
