Appeal Court Nullifies Judgment Ordering Deregistration Of ADC, Accord, Others
By Bukola ELUFADEJIN
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified the Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party and three other political parties, declaring the ruling “null and void.”
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Tuesday, a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit in the first place.
The appellate court set aside the earlier judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, which had directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) over their performance in the 2023 general elections.
The affected political parties had appealed the judgment, asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the decision.
In its ruling, the appellate court described the Federal High Court’s judgment as “a nullity,” stating that “what the learned trial court did amounted to judicial impertinence or what the Supreme Court called judicial insubordination.”
The court held that the lower court acted improperly by proceeding to deliver its judgment despite an earlier order of the Court of Appeal directing a stay of proceedings, including the delivery of judgment.
It further ruled that the first respondent lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to institute the suit, making the entire proceedings incompetent.
“The evidence before the court clearly shows compliance with Section 225A of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended). That the judgment of the trial judge was perverse,” the appellate court held.
Reacting to the verdict, counsel to the Action Peoples Party (APP), Barrister Peter Abang, described the decision as a significant victory for Nigeria’s democracy.
According to him, “This judgement is a victory for democracy in Nigeria and that in the administration of justice, the hierarchy of Courts in Nigeria must be respected as they establish an unbroken chain of command and no court has the luxury to sit in judgment against the correctness or otherwise of orders of superior courts.”
