The Court of Appeal in Abuja has finished hearing arguments and reserved its verdict regarding appeals filed against a Federal High Court order that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties. The African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) are all seeking to overturn the lower court’s decision.
Justice Abba Mohammed led the three-member appellate panel that scheduled the judgment after legal representatives adopted their final arguments. This development follows a previous order from the appellate court on June 16, which granted a stay of execution on the High Court ruling. The panel had previously criticized Justice Peter Lifu for ignoring a directive to pause proceedings, labeling his decision to proceed despite the order as an act of judicial impertinence.
The underlying legal dispute began when the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) sued, claiming that these parties failed to reach the performance benchmarks mandated by Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution. They argued that the parties did not secure at least 25 percent of the vote in a state during presidential contests or win any legislative seats at the national, state, or local levels during recent elections. Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, supported the NFFL’s position, asserting that allowing these parties to remain registered undermines electoral integrity. All affected parties, including INEC, are now waiting for the appellate court to issue a final date for the ruling.
