The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned the Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party and three other political parties, declaring the earlier ruling null and void.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Tuesday, a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit and faulted its decision to proceed with the case despite an existing order of the appellate court directing a stay of proceedings.
The appellate court ruled that the judgment delivered by the lower court amounted to “judicial impertinence” and what the Supreme Court has described as “judicial insubordination.”
The ruling effectively restores the legal status of the affected parties, which is ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) which had challenged the earlier judgment.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had previously directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the parties over their performance in the 2023 general elections.
However, the affected parties appealed the decision, arguing that the judgment was delivered in error.
In its decision, the Court of Appeal held that the trial court ought not to have continued with the matter after it had been ordered to stay proceedings, including the delivery of judgment.
The court also ruled that the plaintiff who instituted the suit lacked the legal standing to do so.
According to the appellate court, “The evidence before the court clearly shows compliance with Section 225A of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). The judgment of the trial judge was perverse.”
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to the Action Peoples Party, Barrister Peter Abang, described the verdict as a major victory for Nigeria’s democracy and the rule of law.
“This judgment is a victory for democracy in Nigeria. In the administration of justice, the hierarchy of courts must be respected, as they establish an unbroken chain of command, and no court has the luxury to sit in judgment against the correctness or otherwise of orders of superior courts,” he said.
The judgment brings to an end the immediate threat to the existence of the five political parties and reinforces the appellate court’s position on the supremacy of judicial hierarchy and due process.
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