Appeal Court Shifts ADC Deregistration Case To July 14

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Tuesday adjourned till July 14 the hearing of appeals seeking to set aside the judgment that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.

NEWSNGR understands that the adjournment followed the failure of some parties to file and exchange the necessary processes within time.

Some respondents informed the court that they had been served with processes shortly before proceedings began and requested time to respond.

Consequently, the three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed shifted the hearing to enable all parties to regularise their processes.

Aside from the ADC, other parties seeking to nullify the Federal High Court judgment are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (A) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

The appellate court had, on June 16, ordered a stay of execution of the High Court judgment.

It also criticised Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, for allegedly disregarding an earlier Court of Appeal order made on May 22, directing him to stay proceedings pending the outcome of an appeal.

The panel held that the judge’s action amounted to “a form of judicial impertinence,” adding that such conduct had been described by the Supreme Court as “judicial rascality.”

Recall that Justice Lifu had ordered INEC to deregister the five political parties, holding that they failed to meet the constitutional requirements for continued existence and participation in future elections.

The court also barred INEC from recognising the parties, accepting their candidates’ nominations or giving effect to their activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

It further ordered the defendants to stop parading themselves as registered political parties in Nigeria.

The judgment followed a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026.

The plaintiffs asked the court to determine whether INEC had a constitutional duty to deregister parties that failed to meet the electoral performance thresholds under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC regulations.

They argued that the affected parties failed to win at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or secure at least one elective seat at the national, state or local government level.

The former lawmakers claimed the ADC and the four other parties performed poorly in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who is also a defendant in the matter, supported the plaintiffs’ case before the trial court.

The AGF argued that the continued existence of the parties violated the 1999 Constitution and undermined Nigeria’s electoral integrity.

He further contended that INEC would continue to breach its constitutional duty if it retained parties that failed to meet the minimum legal requirements.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, all the defendants, including INEC, asked the Court of Appeal to set it aside.