BREAKING: INEC, ADC, Accord, 3 Others Win As Appeal Court Suspends Judgement, Blasts Judge Ordering Commission To Scrap Parties
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has won at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, where it filed a motion to stay the execution of a Federal High Court judgement ordering the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
Heeding the prayer, the Court of Appeal in Abuja today ordered the stay of execution of the judgement that directed the commission to deregister the five political parties.
In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice A. B. Mohammed, berated Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja for flouting an order it made on May 22, which directed him to suspend proceedings before him.
The appellate court held that Justice Lifu’s action amounted to an affront on the hierarchy of courts.
It held that the lower court’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence,” stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a Judge who acted in such a manner “is unfit for the Bench as it amounts to judicial rascality.
“Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court. The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgement despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
“This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are made.
“The application for stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgement is stayed.”
It will be recalled that aside from the ADC, the other parties the high court directed INEC to deregister were the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
According to the now suspended Judge Lufi ruling, the five political parties failed to meet the constitutional requirements to warrant their continued existence and participation in future elections.
It barred INEC from further recognition of the parties, accepting nominations of candidates from the affected parties, or giving effect to their activities for the purpose of participating in the 2027 general elections.
In its motion for stay of execution of Judge Lufi’s judgement, the commission also backed a notice of appeal filed by the affected political parties.
Addressing a three-member panel of the appellate court on Tuesday, INEC said it was shocked that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, delivered the judgement despite an order restraining him from doing so.
INEC, through its legal team led by Haliru Mohammed, said it was not notified that the judgement would be delivered.
The commission said it only heard about the decision through media reports.
INEC stated, “My Lords, we are aware of an order that this court made on May 22, which stopped the delivery of the judgement of the lower court, which was initially reserved for delivery on June 5.
“We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgement. We only saw it as breaking news in the media.
“We therefore do not oppose the application of the appellant to stay the execution of the judgement.”
Counsel for the ADC, Shuaibu Aruwa (SAN), told the appellate court that Justice Lifu notified the party of the judgement delivery through WhatsApp.
Aruwa described the decision of the lower court as an invitation to anarchy and urged the Court of Appeal to sanction the trial Judge for allegedly disregarding the judicial hierarchy.
He submitted: “Sincerely, my Lords, a lot has happened to the Judiciary and this profession. What the trial Judge did was dare this Court of Appeal by insisting that no one could arrest his judgement, even after his attention was drawn to the stay order from this court.
“The action of the trial Judge calls for swift and extraordinary measures from this court. We have come to the stage where this court should press the reset button.
“We are calling on this court to exercise disciplinary jurisdiction under Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
“We urge this court to take disciplinary steps by immediately suspending that judgement. This court has the power to protect its own integrity. We pray this court suspends the judgement immediately without further delay.”
Aside from the ADC, the other parties ordered to be deregistered by the Federal High Court are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord (A) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Justice Lifu had held that the five political parties failed to meet constitutional requirements for their continued existence and participation in future elections.
The court barred INEC from further recognising the parties, accepting nominations from them or giving effect to their activities for the purpose of participating in the 2027 general elections.
Justice Lifu held that there was merit in the suit filed by plaintiffs, the National Forum of Former Legislators, and ordered the defendants to stop parading themselves as registered political parties in Nigeria.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, asked the court to determine whether INEC had a constitutional obligation to deregister political parties that failed to meet the electoral performance thresholds set out in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC regulations.
The former legislators argued that the affected parties had repeatedly failed to meet the constitutional benchmarks required to retain their registration.
They said the requirements included winning at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or securing at least one elective seat at the national, state or local government level.
The plaintiffs claimed that the ADC and the four other parties performed poorly in the 2023 general elections and by-elections conducted by INEC.
They had argued that the continued recognition of the parties was unlawful and undermined the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.
