Court rules Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction, says suit against parties was incompetent from the outset….
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
In a unanimous decision delivered by a three-member panel, the appellate court declared the June 15 judgment of the Federal High Court a nullity, ruling that the trial court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit that led to the deregistration order.
Justice Abba Mohammed, who delivered the lead judgment, held that the case was filed by a non-juristic entity, making the proceedings incompetent from the beginning.
The court ruled that there was no valid suit before the Federal High Court upon which it could have issued orders directing INEC to withdraw recognition from the affected political parties.
The parties restored by the Court of Appeal are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The appellate court also faulted the trial judge for failing to properly assess evidence presented before the court, including documents showing that some of the affected parties had won elective positions in previous elections.
It further criticised the decision of the Federal High Court to proceed with the matter despite an earlier appellate order directing a stay of proceedings pending the determination of an appeal.
The panel described the trial judge’s action as “a form of judicial impertinence,” adding that such conduct contradicted established judicial principles.
The Court of Appeal subsequently allowed the separate appeals filed by the political parties and awarded costs against the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which initiated the original suit.
Background to the dispute
The Federal High Court in Abuja had earlier ordered INEC to deregister the five political parties after finding that they allegedly failed to meet the constitutional requirements for continued recognition.
The court also restrained INEC from recognising the parties, accepting their candidate nominations, or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general elections.
The judgment followed a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators in case number FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026.
The group argued that the parties failed to satisfy the requirements under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), including securing at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or winning elective seats at the national, state or local government levels.
The NFFL had claimed that the parties performed poorly during the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, supported the plaintiffs’ argument, maintaining that allowing the parties to remain registered despite their alleged failure to meet constitutional requirements would undermine electoral standards.
However, all the affected parties, alongside INEC, challenged the Federal High Court decision at the Court of Appeal.
In its ruling, the appellate court held that the lower court should have dismissed the suit due to lack of jurisdiction and incompetence.
With the judgment now set aside, the ADC, APP, AA, AP and ZLP remain recognised political parties and are eligible to operate under Nigeria’s electoral framework.
