The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned the Federal High Court judgement that ordered the deregistration of five opposition political parties, clearing the way for them to continue participating in the 2027 general elections and upcoming off-cycle polls.
The appellate court delivered the unanimous ruling on Tuesday, nullifying the 15 June judgement that affected the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The judgement is expected to strengthen the political standing of ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the Accord Party platform in the 15 August off-cycle governorship election in the State.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Abba Mohammed, ruled that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit that led to the deregistration order.
The court also held that the trial court acted wrongly by proceeding to deliver judgement despite an existing order of stay of proceedings issued by the Court of Appeal.
According to the appellate court, an order staying proceedings also covers the delivery of judgement, rejecting the Federal High Court’s position that the hearing had already been concluded before the stay order was received.
The Justices further ruled that the National Forum of Former Legislators, the association that instituted the suit at the trial court, lacked the locus standi, or legal right, to file the action.
The Court of Appeal held that the case ought to have been dismissed.
“The evidence before the court clearly shows compliance with Section 225 (a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended); that the judgement of the trial judge was perverse,” the court ruled.
Tuesday’s judgement comes nearly two and a half months after the Court of Appeal granted the affected political parties temporary relief by staying the execution of the Federal High Court judgement in a ruling delivered on 16 June.
The appellate court again criticised Federal High Court Judge, Peter Lifu, for proceeding with the case and issuing the deregistration order despite a subsisting stay of proceedings from the higher court.
It recalled that it had earlier described the Judge’s actions as “judicial rascality” before ordering a stay of execution of the judgement.
The case originated from a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Attorney-General of the Federation and the affected political parties.
The group asked the court to compel INEC to remove the parties from its register, arguing that they failed to meet the constitutional requirements under Section 225(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to retain their registration.
It also contended that the parties’ performance in the 2023 election cycle fell below the constitutional threshold.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, supported the suit, while INEC opposed it.
On 15 June, Justice Lifu proceeded to deliver judgement in favour of the plaintiff despite lawyers representing some of the affected political parties informing the court that an appeal on the matter was already pending before the Court of Appeal.
Rejecting their request to suspend proceedings, the Judge held that no valid stay order had been served on the court and ruled that the matter was ripe for judgement before directing INEC to deregister the five political parties.
INEC approached the Court of Appeal the following day, seeking a stay of execution of the judgement, and the request was granted.
In granting the application, the appellate court held that Justice Lifu’s conduct breached its supervisory authority over lower courts.
It recalled its earlier order directing the trial court to suspend proceedings pending the determination of the appeal and expressed surprise that the directive was ignored.
The court ruled that the trial Judge proceeded to deliver judgement despite the clear order halting proceedings, describing the action as a “brazen disregard for judicial authority” and reiterating that it amounted to “judicial rascality.”
Tuesday’s judgement is expected to boost the confidence of ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and Governor Ademola Adeleke ahead of the 15 August Osun governorship election, as candidates contesting on the affected parties’ platforms had faced uncertainty over their legal status if the deregistration order remained in force.
Reacting to the judgement, Peter Abang, counsel to the Action Peoples Party (APP), described the decision as a victory for Nigeria’s democracy and judicial system.
“This judgement is a victory for democracy in Nigeria and that in the administration of justice,” he said, according to reports.
“The hierarchy of courts in Nigeria must be respected as they establish an unbroken chain of command and no court has the luxury to sit in judgment against the correctness or otherwise of orders of superior courts.”
