The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja seeking a stay of execution of a Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
The commission also indicated support for the notice of appeal filed by the affected political parties against the judgment.
During proceedings before a three-member panel of the appellate court on Tuesday, INEC, through its legal team led by Haliru Mohammed, expressed surprise over the decision of the Federal High Court to proceed with delivery of judgment despite an existing order restraining such action.
According to the commission, it was not notified of the judgment date and only became aware of the development through media reports.
INEC stated before the court that an earlier order issued by the Court of Appeal on May 22 had halted the delivery of the lower court’s judgment, which had initially been scheduled for June 5.
The commission informed the appellate court that it had no objection to the application seeking to suspend execution of the judgment pending determination of the appeal.
Meanwhile, counsel to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Shuaibu Aruwa (SAN), alleged that notification of the judgment delivery was communicated to the party through WhatsApp by the trial judge.
Aruwa criticised the lower court’s action and urged the Court of Appeal to take decisive steps to preserve judicial order and institutional integrity.
He argued that the judgment amounted to a disregard for the authority of the appellate court and called for immediate suspension of the ruling.
The affected political parties include the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court had ruled that the parties failed to satisfy constitutional conditions required for their continued recognition as political parties.
The judgment restrained INEC from recognising the parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting their participation in preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The court also directed the parties to cease presenting themselves as registered political parties in Nigeria.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026 and instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators, sought judicial interpretation on whether INEC has a constitutional obligation to deregister parties that fail to meet electoral performance requirements under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022 and relevant electoral regulations.
The plaintiffs argued that the affected parties failed to attain the required electoral thresholds, including securing at least 25 percent of votes in a state during presidential elections or winning elective positions at national, state or local government levels.
They maintained that continued recognition of such parties undermines the integrity and effectiveness of Nigeria’s electoral system.
