The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has moved to halt the enforcement of a Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
The court, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, had directed INEC to deregister the affected parties over their failure to meet constitutional electoral performance requirements during the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections.
The parties affected by the ruling include:
African Democratic Congress (ADC)
Action Peoples Party (APP)
Action Alliance (AA)
Accord Party (AP)
Zenith Labour Party (ZLP)
Reacting to the judgment, INEC approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja, requesting a stay of execution pending the determination of appeals against the ruling.
Represented by a legal team led by Haliru Mohammed, the commission expressed surprise that the Federal High Court proceeded with the judgment despite an earlier order from the Court of Appeal restraining further action on the matter.
According to INEC, the appellate court had issued an order on May 22, 2026, preventing the delivery of the judgment, which had initially been scheduled for June 5.
Addressing a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, INEC’s counsel stated that the commission was not informed that the judgment would be delivered.
“We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgment. We only learned about it through media reports and breaking news publications,” the lawyer said.
The electoral body further informed the court that it supports the appeal filed by the affected political parties and does not oppose their application seeking a stay of execution.
The development comes as the ADC continues to emerge as a key opposition platform ahead of the 2027 general election.
Earlier, the party rejected the court ruling, describing it as unconstitutional and an attempt to weaken Nigeria’s democratic process through judicial means.
ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, argued that the judgment contradicts existing legal precedents and previous positions taken by INEC regarding the deregistration of political parties.
The Court of Appeal is expected to determine whether the judgment should be suspended pending the final resolution of the case.
The legal battle now sets the stage for a major judicial showdown that could have significant implications for Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 elections.
