The Court of Appeal in Abuja has postponed the substantive hearing of appeals challenging a Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties until July 14.
The adjournment followed the failure of some parties in the case to file and exchange the required court documents on time. During Tuesday’s proceedings, some respondents told the court they had only just been served fresh processes and requested more time to respond.
The three-member panel, led by Justice Abba Mohammed, granted the request and adjourned the matter to allow all parties to regularise their filings.
The appeals were filed by the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), all seeking to overturn the Federal High Court judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister them.
The appellate court had earlier, on June 16, stayed the execution of the judgment and criticised the trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, for proceeding with the case despite an earlier order directing him to halt proceedings pending the outcome of the appeals.
The Federal High Court had ruled that the five political parties failed to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration, including electoral performance thresholds outlined in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The judgment also barred INEC from recognising the affected parties or accepting their candidates for future elections, including the 2027 general election.
The suit was filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators, which argued that the parties failed to secure the electoral support or elective positions required by law to retain their registration.
Although the Attorney General of the Federation supported the suit at the trial court, INEC and the affected political parties have appealed the judgment, asking the Court of Appeal to set it aside.
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