The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has adjourned the hearing of an appeal filed by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties challenging a Federal High Court judgment that ordered their deregistration.
A three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice Abubakar Mohammed shifted the matter from Thursday to allow parties in the suit file and exchange their briefs of argument ahead of the substantive hearing.
Counsel for the Accord Party, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), informed the panel that the record of appeal and the judgment of the Federal High Court were only obtained on Monday and had since been transmitted to the appellate court, and subsequently sought a short adjournment to allow parties file and exchange their processes.
The application was not opposed by other parties, prompting the court to adjourn the matter until 2pm on July 7.
The appeal stems from a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the affected political parties for allegedly failing to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution.
Justice Lifu held that the parties did not satisfy the constitutional threshold required to retain their registration and participate in future elections.
INEC opposed the deregistration, arguing that the affected parties had met the required conditions and had produced candidates who won elective positions in previous elections.
The commission tendered certificates of return issued to such candidates in support of its position.
The five parties affected are the African Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party, and Zenith Labour Party.
The judgment was delivered in defiance of a subsisting Court of Appeal order.
A three-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Danjuma had on May 22, 2026, granted a stay of further proceedings in the case pending the determination of an appeal filed by the Accord Party.
Notwithstanding that order, Justice Lifu proceeded to deliver judgment directing INEC to deregister the five parties and barring them from participating in any future elections, including the 2027 general polls.
In a unanimous decision, the appellate court condemned Justice Lifu’s conduct, describing it as the highest form of judicial impertinence and stating that the Supreme Court had previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner was unfit for the bench as it amounted to judicial rascality.
The Court of Appeal subsequently ordered a stay of execution of the judgment on June 16, halting any move by INEC to implement the deregistration pending the determination of the appeal.
The case will return before the appellate court on July 7 for full hearing.
(The Whistler)