The Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified the judgment of the Federal High Court directing the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister the African Democratic Congress, Accord Party and three other political parties.
The appellate court, in a unanimous judgment delivered on Tuesday, declared the earlier ruling a nullity, holding that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
The affected parties are the African Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party.
The appellate court set aside the judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which had ordered INEC to deregister the parties over their performance in the 2023 general elections.
The five political parties had challenged the decision, asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling.
Delivering the lead judgment, the three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed held that the trial court acted without judicial authority by proceeding with the case despite an earlier order of the Court of Appeal directing a stay of proceedings, including the delivery of judgment.
The appellate court described the lower court’s action as “judicial impertinence” and “judicial insubordination”, stressing that the Federal High Court ought not to have delivered its judgment while the appellate court’s stay order remained in force.
The court further ruled that the plaintiff who instituted the suit lacked the legal standing to file the action, rendering the entire proceedings incompetent.
According to the appellate court, the evidence before it showed that the constitutional provisions under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), relating to the deregistration of political parties, had been complied with.
It consequently held that the judgment of the trial court was perverse and declared it null and void.
The ruling effectively restores the legal status of the five political parties and overturns the Federal High Court’s directive requiring INEC to deregister them.
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