Segun Atanda/
Fresh questions have emerged over the legal validity of a Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), following the emergence of a Court of Appeal order that had earlier directed that all proceedings in the case be suspended pending the determination of an appeal.
The development has transformed what initially appeared to be a major judicial victory for advocates of party deregistration into a potentially complex constitutional and procedural dispute that could ultimately be resolved by the appellate courts.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had ruled in favour of the National Forum of Former Legislators and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the five parties on the grounds that they allegedly failed to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements.
However, documents from the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, indicate that proceedings in the case had already been stayed months before the judgment was delivered.
The appellate order, issued in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/569/2026 arising from Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2025, was made by a three member panel comprising Justices Mohammed A. Danjuma, Adebukunola A. Banjoko and Oyejoju O. Oyewumi.
The appeal was filed by Accord against the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, INEC, the Attorney General of the Federation, ADC, AA, APP and ZLP.
According to the enrolled order dated May 22, 2026, the Court of Appeal granted an application seeking a stay of proceedings in the Federal High Court matter.
The order stated: “The application filed on 04/05/2026 is granted staying further proceedings in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2025 pending the hearing and determination of this appeal.”
The appellate court further directed that: “This appeal is adjourned to 27/10/2026 for the hearing of the appeal.”
The order was signed by Deputy Chief Registrar, Josephine J. Ekperobe, and bears certification stamps of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.
The existence of that order has triggered intense debate within legal circles after human rights lawyer, Festus Ogun, argued that the Federal High Court ought not to have proceeded to judgment while the stay order remained in force.
According to Ogun, all parties involved in the appeal, including counsel and the trial court, were aware of the appellate court’s directive suspending proceedings.
“Today, My Noble Lord, Hon Justice Peter Lifu, delivered judgment in the same case which essentially deregistered some political parties despite the clear order of the superior court for the lower court to stay all proceedings pending the outcome of the appeal,” Ogun wrote.
He described the situation as an “ugly spectacle for the judiciary” and argued that a judgment delivered in defiance of a subsisting order of a superior court would be invalid.
While Ogun’s position reflects a widely held legal principle that lower courts are bound by orders of superior courts, the ultimate determination of the judgment’s validity is likely to rest with the Court of Appeal and, potentially, the Supreme Court.
Legal practitioners contacted by Newsmakerslive.org noted that once a stay of proceedings is granted, a trial court is ordinarily expected to halt all substantive steps in the matter until the appeal is resolved.
They cautioned, however, that only a superior court can conclusively pronounce on the legal consequences of any alleged breach of such an order.
The controversy has immediate political significance.
The ADC has emerged in recent months as one of the most prominent platforms for opposition coalition discussions ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Any uncertainty surrounding its legal status could affect calculations by politicians considering the party as a vehicle for national political realignment.
The implications are equally significant for Accord, which is currently a major stakeholder in the closely contested Osun State governorship race.
Governor Ademola Adeleke is seeking re election on the platform of Accord after the political realignments that reshaped the state’s electoral landscape. Any disruption to the party’s registration status would have carried potentially profound consequences for the contest.
Neither ADC nor Accord has accepted the Federal High Court ruling as final.
Party officials insist that the Court of Appeal proceedings remain active and point to the May 22 order as evidence that the matter is far from settled.
The dispute also places INEC in a delicate position. The electoral commission would ordinarily be expected to comply with valid court orders, yet it may now have to navigate competing judicial developments while awaiting clarification from the appellate courts.
The case revives memories of the mass deregistration of political parties carried out by INEC in 2020 following constitutional amendments that expanded the commission’s powers to remove parties that failed to meet prescribed electoral thresholds.
Unlike that exercise, however, the present dispute is increasingly centred not only on whether the affected parties satisfy constitutional requirements but also on whether the process leading to the deregistration order complied with established judicial procedure.
With the Court of Appeal already fixing October 27, 2026 for hearing of the substantive appeal, attention is likely to shift rapidly to the appellate court, where judges may now be called upon to determine not only the merits of the deregistration case but also the status and legal effect of the Federal High Court judgment delivered while a stay order appeared to be in force.
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