LAGOS — The battle over deregistration of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and four other political parties took a dramatic turn, yesterday, as the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted execution of the Federal High Court judgment ordering their removal from the register of Independent National Electroral Commission, INEC.
The appellate court, in a unanimous ruling by a three-member panel, led by Justice A.B. Mohammed, severely criticised the lower court for proceeding with its judgment, despite an earlier order directing it to suspend action in the matter, describing the conduct as a violation of judicial hierarchy.
INEC supported the application for stay, saying it was not informed of delivery of the judgment and only learned of it through media reports...READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE .
The affected parties, including ADC, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party, had been accused by the National Forum of Former Legislators, NFFL, of failing to meet electoral performance thresholds set out in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulations.
The forum, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, prayed the court presided over Justice Peter Lifu, to order INEC to deregister them, and it was granted.
The lower court’s ruling sparked outrage among opposition figures and civil society groups who warned against actions capable of shrinking Nigeria’s democratic space, ahead of the 2027 elections.
While critics described the move as an attempt to weaken opposition parties, legal supporters of the judgment insisted it merely enforced constitutional provisions requiring political parties to meet minimum electoral standards.
Appeal court order
Ordering stay of execution of the lower court order following an application from INEC, the appellate court 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.
It held that Justice Lifu’s action amounted to an affront on the hierarchy of courts, adding that his action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence, ”stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such 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 judgment 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 judgment is stayed,” the appellate court held.
Parties, INEC seek stay of execution of verdict
The electoral umpire had earlier asked the Court of Appeal to stay execution of the judgment ordering deregistration of the five parties and threw its weight behind a notice of appeal lodged by the political parties.
Addressing a three-member panel of the appellate court, the electoral body said it was shocked by the decision of Justice Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja to deliver the judgment, despite an order that stopped him from doing so.
INEC, through its team of lawyers, led by Mr. Haliru Mohammed, said it was not notified that judgment would be delivered, saying it only heard about the court’s decision through media reports.
“We are aware of an order that this court made on May 22, which stopped delivery of the judgment of the lower court, which was initially reserved for delivery on June 5.
“We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding delivery of the judgment. We only saw it as breaking news in the media. We therefore do not oppose the application of the appellant to stay execution of the judgment,” the commission said.
Invitation to anarchy
Similarly, counsel to ADC, Mr. Shuaibu Aruwa, SAN, told the appellate court that Justice Lifu notified the party of the delivery of the judgment via WhatsApp.
Insisting that the decision of the high court was an invitation to anarchy, counsel to the ADC urged the appellate court to invoke its powers and sanction Justice Lifu for disrespecting judicial hierarchy.
“Sincerely, 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 judgment, 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 judgment. This court has the power to protect its own integrity. We pray this court suspends the judgment immediately without further delay,” ADC’s lawyer submitted.
The other parties also drew attention of the appellate court panel to the fact that on June 20, INEC will conduct by-elections in six states of the federation.
They contended that if the judgment was not stayed, it would create problems across the country, maintaining that the Court of Appeal has inherent powers to act in a supervisory capacity and not allow its orders to be disregarded by lower courts.
