The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has ordered a stay of execution of the Federal High Court judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
The development followed an application filed by INEC seeking to suspend enforcement of the lower court’s ruling pending the determination of an appeal.
Recall that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had earlier ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), citing their alleged failure to satisfy constitutional conditions required for continued registration.
Delivering its ruling on Tuesday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice A. B. Mohammed criticised the decision of the trial court to proceed with judgment despite an earlier directive issued by the appellate court on May 22 ordering suspension of proceedings.
The appellate court held that proceeding with the judgment amounted to a violation of judicial hierarchy and disregard for existing court orders.
According to the court, compliance with the structure of judicial authority remains fundamental to preserving the integrity of the justice system.
The panel stated that the lower court’s action represented a serious departure from established judicial procedure and reaffirmed that appellate courts retain supervisory powers over lower courts.
The court further held that it had a constitutional responsibility to ensure that its directives are obeyed and maintained that preserving institutional order within the judiciary remains essential.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal granted the application for stay of execution and ordered that enforcement of the Federal High Court judgment be suspended pending further legal proceedings.
The ruling means that the affected political parties retain their status for now until the substantive appeal is determined.
