Nigeria’s Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned a Federal High Court ruling that ordered the deregistration of five political parties,
The court declared the earlier judgment null and void in a decision reinforcing judicial hierarchy and constitutional due process.
The appellate court set aside the Federal High Court judgment that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigeria’s electoral management body, to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, had ruled that the parties should be deregistered based on their performance in Nigeria’s 2023 general elections.
The affected parties challenged that decision before the Court of Appeal, arguing that the judgment should be nullified.
In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed ruled that the lower court lacked the judicial authority to hear the case. The appellate court described the judgment as “a nullity” and held that “what the learned trial court did amount to judicial impertinence or what the Supreme Court called judicial insubordination.”
The court also found that the trial court erred by delivering its judgment despite an earlier Court of Appeal order staying proceedings, including the delivery of judgment.
In addition, the appellate court held that the first respondent lacked the legal standing, or locus standi, to institute the case. It further ruled that the evidence before the court demonstrated compliance with Section 225A of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), concluding that the trial court’s judgment was “perverse.”
Speaking to journalists after the ruling, counsel to the Action Peoples Party, Peter Abang, welcomed the decision.
“This judgment 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,” Abang said.
