Court of Appeal Blocks Deregistration of Five Nigerian Parties

The Court of Appeal in Abuja vacated a Federal High Court judgment that had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister five political parties: the African Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party, and the Zenith Labour Party. The lower court had originally ruled that these parties failed to meet constitutional electoral performance thresholds under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution.

In a unanimous decision led by Justice Abba Mohammed, the appellate court declared the original order a nullity. The court found that the trial court wrongly assumed jurisdiction over a suit filed by a non-juristic entity and ignored evidence that the parties had won seats in previous elections. Additionally, the appellate court criticized Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court for judicial impertinence after he delivered the judgment in defiance of a May 22 order to stay proceedings. The court subsequently awarded monetary costs against the National Forum of Former Legislators, which had initiated the lawsuit.

Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President of Nigeria, welcomed the ruling and stated it reaffirms the judiciary as the guardian of constitutional democracy. He argued that political contests must be decided by the votes of Nigerians rather than through lawsuits. Separately, a Federal High Court ruling affirmed the leadership of Senator David Mark within the African Democratic Congress, resolving ongoing leadership disputes for the party.