Appeal court postpones ADC, four other parties’ deregistration case to July 7

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has adjourned until July 7 the hearing of an appeal challenging the deregistration of five political parties, including the African Democratic Congress and the Accord Party.

The case, which was initially scheduled for June 25, was postponed to give all parties involved enough time to file and exchange their briefs of argument before the substantive hearing begins.

During Thursday’s proceedings, counsel to the Accord Party, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), told the three-member panel headed by Justice Abubakar Mohammed that the record of appeal and the judgment of the Federal High Court were only received on Monday and had already been transmitted to the appellate court.

Adetunbi therefore requested a brief adjournment to allow the parties complete the filing and exchange of the necessary legal documents.

The application was not opposed by other parties in the suit, prompting the court to adjourn the matter until 2pm on July 7.

Although Adetunbi requested three days to file and exchange briefs, Justice Mohammed explained that some members of the panel would be out of Abuja next week for official engagements, making July 7 the earliest convenient date.

The appeal stems from a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister the African Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party.

Justice Lifu held that the parties failed to satisfy constitutional requirements necessary to retain their registration and participate in future elections.

However, INEC opposed the deregistration, maintaining that the affected parties met the constitutional threshold and had won elective positions in previous elections. The electoral body tendered certificates of return issued to candidates elected on the platforms of the parties.

In a related development, the Court of Appeal on June 16 ordered a stay of execution of the Federal High Court judgment, preventing INEC from enforcing the deregistration pending the determination of the appeal.

In a unanimous ruling, the appellate court criticised Justice Lifu for delivering the judgment despite an earlier order directing him to suspend proceedings in the matter.

The court described the action as a violation of the hierarchy of courts and granted an application staying the enforcement of the judgment.

The suit was instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators, which argued that the affected parties failed to meet the electoral performance benchmarks stipulated under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.

The group contended that the parties failed to secure the constitutionally required electoral performance in the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections, and therefore ought to be deregistered.

INEC, however, insisted that the parties remained qualified for registration, citing victories recorded by their candidates in elections conducted across the country.

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