By John Azu
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ordered a stay of execution of the judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties, setting aside, for now, a decision that threatened the continued existence of the affected parties.
A three-member panel of justices led by Justice A.B. Mohammed issued the order on Tuesday and strongly criticised the conduct of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which had delivered the controversial judgment a day earlier.
The appellate court held that the trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, proceeded to deliver judgment despite being aware of an existing order of the Court of Appeal staying further proceedings in the matter.
According to the appellate court, the action amounted to judicial overreach, with Justice Mohammed describing it as “judicial rascality.”
The development came amid an appeal filed by the Accord Party challenging the proceedings before the Federal High Court.
Justice Lifu had on Monday ordered INEC to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Peoples Party (APP), on the grounds that they failed to comply with Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution by not producing any elected official in the most recent general election.
The judgment followed a suit instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties no longer met the constitutional requirements for continued registration.
However, at Tuesday’s proceedings before the Court of Appeal, counsel to the Accord Party, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), informed the court that Justice Lifu delivered the judgment despite a subsisting order of the appellate court made on May 22 directing the lower court to halt proceedings pending the determination of an interlocutory appeal.
Adetunbi explained that the May 22 order was issued by a three-member panel comprising Justices Mohammed Danjuma, Adebukola Banjoko and Oyejoju Oyewumi after the Accord Party appealed the lower court’s refusal to stay proceedings.
He told the court that all relevant processes, including an affidavit of facts, had been filed on May 26, only for the parties to receive notice on Monday that judgment would be delivered.
“Myself and counsel to the 4th respondent and 6th (APP) drew his lordship’s attention to your lordships’ order. His lordship ignored your lordships’ order and proceeded to deliver judgement,” Adetunbi said.
Continuing, he added: “My noble lords, for over 25 years of my practice, I have never seen such a direct affront in the administration of justice. The judgement was delivered in clear violation of your lordship’s order and a gross violation of Section 287(2) of the Nigerian Constitution, which his lordship swore to protect.”
Section 287(2) of the Constitution requires all authorities and persons, including lower courts, to enforce and give effect to decisions of the Court of Appeal.
Counsel to INEC, I.S. Mohammed, told the court that the electoral commission was unaware of what transpired at the lower court on Monday and was not opposed to the applications before the appellate court.
A similar position was taken by counsel to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Prof. J.O. Oladoke, who informed the court that the federal government would abide by the court’s decision.
Lawyers representing the political parties affected by the deregistration order urged the Court of Appeal to invoke its disciplinary powers over the actions of the trial judge.
However, counsel to the National Forum of Former Legislators, Yakubu Ruba (SAN), opposed the applications and urged the court to vacate its earlier stay order.
Ruba argued that he was never served with the notice of appeal that led to the May 22 order and only became aware of it through a colleague, Gbenga Makanjuola.
He contended that the order was made without affording his client a fair hearing.
While indicating his readiness to respond to the interlocutory appeal, Ruba told the court: “The order of 22nd May, 2026, has been overtaken by events as the lower court has delivered its judgement.”
After hearing the parties, the Court of Appeal ordered a stay of execution of the Federal High Court judgment and adjourned the matter until June 25 for the hearing of all pending applications.
The ruling effectively halts any move by INEC to implement the deregistration order pending the determination of the appeal.
The case has drawn significant public attention because of its potential implications for Nigeria’s multiparty democracy. The five affected parties, particularly the ADC, have remained active participants in national politics despite their limited electoral success in recent election cycles.
Section 225A of the Constitution empowers INEC to deregister political parties under certain circumstances, including failure to win elective offices. However, the exercise of that power has repeatedly generated legal disputes, with political parties often challenging deregistration decisions on constitutional and procedural grounds.
The outcome of the pending appeal is expected to clarify both the scope of INEC’s powers under the Constitution and the extent to which courts can compel the electoral commission to deregister political parties.