The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned a Federal High Court judgment ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission to withdraw recognition from five political parties.
The parties are the African Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party.
A three-member panel of the appellate court delivered the unanimous ruling on Tuesday, declaring the June 15 deregistration order legally invalid.
Justice Abba Mohammed, who read the lead judgment, said the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case that produced the order.
The appellate court found that the original action was instituted by an organisation without the legal capacity to sue.
It consequently held that there was no competent suit upon which the order directing INEC to deregister the parties could have been based.
The court also ruled that evidence showing that some of the affected parties had secured elective positions in previous elections was not properly considered by the trial court.
According to the panel, the Federal High Court should have dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction and merit.
The appellate court further criticised the lower court for continuing with the proceedings despite an existing order directing it to suspend the case.
It held that the decision to proceed and deliver judgment amounted to disobedience of the established judicial hierarchy.
The court allowed the separate appeals filed by the five political parties and affirmed that they remained legally registered.
It also awarded financial costs against the National Forum of Former Legislators, which instituted the original action, although the amount was not disclosed in the report.
Appeal Court Had Earlier Suspended Judgment
The Court of Appeal had on June 16 suspended the enforcement of the Federal High Court decision pending the determination of the appeals.
The panel had previously criticised Justice Peter Lifu for proceeding with the matter after it issued a May 22 order directing him to stay further action.
According to the appellate court, the trial judge had been informed of the order but continued with the proceedings and delivered judgment.
The panel described the conduct in strong terms and cited earlier Supreme Court authorities condemning disobedience of superior court orders.
Federal High Court Had Barred Parties From 2027 Polls
The Federal High Court had earlier ordered INEC to deregister the five parties on the grounds that they allegedly failed to satisfy constitutional electoral-performance requirements.
The judgment barred the commission from recognising the parties, receiving their candidate nominations or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general elections.
Justice Lifu also restrained the organisations from presenting themselves as duly registered Nigerian political parties.
The National Forum of Former Legislators filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026.
It asked the court to determine whether INEC was obligated to deregister parties that failed to meet the requirements contained in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The group also relied on provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and regulations issued by INEC.
It argued that political parties must secure a prescribed percentage of votes in a presidential election or win at least one elective seat at the federal, state or local government level to retain registration.
The former lawmakers claimed that the affected parties failed to satisfy the thresholds during the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections.
They contended that allowing the parties to remain registered would weaken the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral system.
Attorney-General Supported Original Suit
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, supported the plaintiffs’ position before the Federal High Court.
In his filings, Fagbemi argued that retaining political parties that failed to meet constitutional requirements would amount to a breach of INEC’s statutory responsibilities.
INEC and the affected political parties, however, challenged the decision and asked the Court of Appeal to set it aside.
With the latest ruling, the deregistration order has been nullified, and the ADC, APP, AA, Accord Party and ZLP remain recognised political parties in Nigeria.
