A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal has suspended the execution of a Federal High Court order that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties. The parties affected are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP). The lower court, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, had on Monday ruled that the parties be deregistered for failing to win any seat in the 2023 general election. However, the appeal court found that the trial court delivered judgment while an interlocutory appeal was pending before the appellate court and in defiance of its order of May 22, which directed a stay of proceedings.
Justice Abba Mohammed, leading the appeal panel, stated that the trial court's action amounted to a brazen violation of the hierarchy of courts and the 1999 Constitution. The appellate court had previously ordered Justice Lifu to suspend further proceedings pending determination of the appeal filed by Accord. INEC confirmed it was unaware of the judgment until it appeared in media reports and did not oppose the application for a stay. The electoral body referenced the appellate court's May 22 order halting judgment delivery, which had initially been scheduled for June 5.
Senator David Mark, National Chairman of ADC, said the judiciary was on trial following the lower court's action. Atiku Abubakar, ADC's presidential candidate for 2027, called the judgment a dangerous assault on constitutional democracy and evidence of a coordinated effort to eliminate political opposition. He spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu. Adewole Adebayo, presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), pledged support for legal challenges against the deregistration. The National Forum of Former Legislators, through its Executive Director Mbasekei Obono, had initiated the suit, initially targeting only ADC before amending it to include the other four parties.
Justice Peter Lifu issued a judgment on a matter the Court of Appeal had already ordered him to pause, creating a direct conflict between trial and appellate authority. The appeal court's rebuke exposes a breakdown in judicial discipline that now places political parties' survival in legal limbo. Atiku Abubakar and Ademola Adeleke, both running under affected parties, face uncertainty despite court intervention. The judiciary's internal disarray risks undermining public trust in the electoral process it is meant to protect.
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