Court of Appeal sets aside judgement ordering deregistration of ADC, four other parties

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court which ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party and three other political parties.

The appellate court, in a unanimous decision on Tuesday, declared the judgement ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the parties “null and void.”

Recall that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had ordered INEC to deregister the parties over their performance in the 2023 general elections.

Dissatisfied with the decision, the affected political parties — the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) — approached the Court of Appeal seeking to nullify the Federal High Court judgement.

However, the three-member panel of the appellate court, presided over by Justice Abba Mohammed, held that the trial court lacked the judicial power to entertain the case in the first place.

The Court of Appeal also faulted the Federal High Court for proceeding with the delivery of the judgement despite an order by the appellate court directing a stay of proceedings, which included the delivery of the judgement.

The appellate court described the Federal High Court’s decision as “a nullity,” stating that the action of the trial court amounted to “judicial impertinence” or what the Supreme Court had described as “judicial insubordination.”

The court further held that the first respondent lacked the locus standi to institute the action in the first place, and consequently set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court.

“The evidence before the court clearly shows compliance with Section 225A of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). The judgement of the trial judge was perverse,” the Court of Appeal held.