Court of Appeal Voids Order Directing INEC to Deregister ADC, 4 Other Political Parties

ByEditor

Jul 28, 2026 #2027 election, #Accord Party, #Action Alliance, #Action Peoples Party, #ADC, #African Democratic Congress, #Court of Appeal, #deregistration, #Federal High Court, #INEC, #Justice Abba Mohammed, #Political Parties, #Zenith Labour Party

Pat Stevens/

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties, restoring a significant legal victory for the affected parties ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general election.

In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed, the appellate court declared the lower court’s decision “null and void”, holding that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit in the first place.

The affected parties are the African Democratic Congress, Accord Party, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party and Zenith Labour Party.

The appellate court ruled that the trial court proceeded in defiance of an earlier order directing it to stay proceedings, including the delivery of judgment, pending the determination of appeals already before the Court of Appeal.

Describing the conduct of the lower court in unusually strong terms, the panel held that the decision amounted to “judicial impertinence” and what the Supreme Court has previously characterised as “judicial insubordination”.

It consequently declared the entire proceedings a nullity.

The court further held that the plaintiff who instituted the suit lacked the legal standing, or locus standi, to bring the action, providing an additional basis for setting aside the Federal High Court’s judgment.

The ruling reverses a decision delivered in June by the Federal High Court, which directed INEC to remove the five parties from its register on the grounds that they allegedly failed to satisfy constitutional requirements for continued registration.

The judgment had generated widespread political and legal debate because of its potential impact on the country’s opposition landscape ahead of the next general election.

Before the latest judgment, the Court of Appeal had already stayed the execution of the deregistration order after finding that the trial judge proceeded with the case despite a subsisting appellate order suspending further proceedings.

The affected political parties and INEC had both challenged the Federal High Court’s decision, arguing that it was reached without jurisdiction and in breach of established judicial procedure.

The latest ruling effectively restores the legal status of the five political parties and reinforces the principle that lower courts must comply with subsisting orders of superior courts while appeals are pending.