Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has delivered a landmark judgment that nullifies the Federal High Court order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, and three other political parties. In a unanimous decision delivered on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed set aside the June 15 ruling of Justice Peter Lifu, declaring it a nullity and restoring the affected parties to the electoral register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The appellate court's ruling effectively vacated the deregistration order that had threatened to bar five opposition parties—the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP)—from participating in future elections. The court upheld the appeals filed by the political parties, awarded monetary costs against the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which had initiated the suit, and declared that all affected parties "remained duly registered".
The judgment clears a major legal hurdle for the ADC and Accord Party, whose presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke—seeking re-election on the Accord platform in the August 15 off-cycle governorship election—had faced uncertainty over their electoral participation. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Atiku Media Office welcomed the ruling, describing it as "a victory for constitutional democracy and the rule of law" and confirming that the ADC had "finally navigated its ways to the ballot for the 2027 General Elections" with no outstanding suit challenging its leadership.
The appellate court's decision was grounded in several critical findings. First, the court held that the trial court "wrongly assumed jurisdiction" and made its order on "an incompetent suit that was filed by a non-juristic entity," ruling that there was "no valid suit that could have warranted the consequential order" directing INEC to deregister the political parties. The court further noted that the trial court "failed to properly evaluate evidence placed before it," stressing that "proof that the parties won various seats in previous elections was ignored".
Most significantly, the appellate court rebuked Justice Lifu for what it described as "judicial impertinence" and "judicial rascality". The panel noted that the trial judge had proceeded to deliver judgment despite an order issued by the Court of Appeal on May 22, 2026, directing him to stay proceedings pending the outcome of an interlocutory appeal. The appellate court held that "an order of stay of proceedings covers the delivery of a judgement" and dismissed the trial court's justification that the hearing had been concluded before the stay order arrived. The panel further cited Supreme Court precedent that a judge who acts in such a manner "is unfit for the bench, as the conduct amounts to judicial rascality".
The case originated from a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which sought to compel INEC to deregister the five parties for allegedly failing to meet electoral performance thresholds under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Justice Lifu had ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on June 15, 2026, ordering INEC to remove the parties from its register and barring them from participating in the 2027 elections. However, the Court of Appeal had stayed execution of that judgment on June 16, 2026, a decision that the trial judge proceeded to ignore.
In addition to the jurisdictional and procedural failures, the appellate court also ruled that the NFFL lacked locus standi to institute the action in the first place. The court awarded a penalty of N1 million against the former legislators who filed the case. The panel's lead judgment, delivered by Justice Abba Mohammed, declared that "the evidence before the court clearly shows a compliance with Section 225A of the Constitution" and that "the judgment of the trial judge was perverse".
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the judgment, counsel to the Action Peoples Party (APP), Barr. Peter Abang, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, describing it as "a victory for democracy in Nigeria" and stressing that "the hierarchy of Courts in Nigeria must be respected as they establish an unbroken chain of command". The ruling has been widely interpreted as a significant rebuke of judicial overreach and a reaffirmation of the appellate court's supervisory authority over lower courts.
The Federal High Court's initial order had barred INEC from according further recognition to the parties, accepting nominations of candidates from them, or giving effect to their activities for purposes of participating in the 2027 general elections. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who was joined as a defendant in the suit, had supported the plaintiffs' case, arguing that retaining the affected political parties was inconsistent with constitutional provisions. However, the appellate court's unanimous decision has now definitively overturned that position.
The judgment comes nearly two and a half months after the Court of Appeal first granted the affected parties a reprieve by staying execution of the deregistration order on June 16, 2026. With the appellate court's final ruling, the five political parties are now fully restored to INEC's register and cleared to participate in all upcoming elections, including the Osun State governorship election scheduled for August 15, 2026, and the 2027 general elections. For Atiku Abubakar and the ADC, as well as Governor Adeleke and the Accord Party, the ruling removes the legal cloud that had hung over their electoral ambitions and restores their full rights as registered political parties in Nigeria.
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