Appeal Court Quashes Deregistration Order Against Accord, Four Other Parties
By Waliu Adetokun, Osogbo
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned the judgment of the Federal High Court which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister Accord and four other political parties over alleged failure to meet constitutional requirements.
A three-member panel of the appellate court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Abba Mohammed, held that the Federal High Court acted without jurisdiction when it issued the order directing INEC to withdraw the registration of the affected parties.
The court ruled that the suit upon which the deregistration order was based was incompetent, adding that there was no valid legal basis for the trial court’s decision.
According to the appellate court, “there was no valid suit that could have warranted the consequential order directing INEC to derecognise the political parties.”
The panel faulted the Federal High Court for failing to properly evaluate the evidence presented before it, particularly evidence showing that the affected political parties had won elective positions in previous elections.
The court also criticised the trial court for proceeding with the matter despite an earlier directive to suspend proceedings pending the determination of an appeal.
It held that the Federal High Court ought to have dismissed the case instead of granting the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal allowed the separate appeals filed by the affected political parties and affirmed that they remained duly registered political parties in Nigeria.
The court also awarded costs against the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which instituted the suit seeking the deregistration of the parties.
The political parties affected by the judgment are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The ruling followed an earlier decision by the appellate court on June 16, where it stayed the execution of the Federal High Court judgment and criticised the trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, for proceeding with the matter despite an order directing him to halt proceedings.
The Court of Appeal had held that the trial judge acted in disregard of judicial hierarchy by delivering judgment after being informed of the pending appeal.
The Federal High Court had earlier ordered INEC to deregister the five political parties, ruling that they failed to satisfy the constitutional conditions required for continued recognition.
The court had also restrained INEC from recognising the parties, accepting nominations from them, or allowing them to participate in future elections, including the 2027 general elections.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, was filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators, which argued that INEC had a constitutional responsibility to deregister political parties that failed to meet the requirements provided under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and relevant INEC regulations.
The plaintiffs had claimed that the affected parties performed poorly during the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections and therefore failed to meet the required electoral benchmarks.
They argued that retaining such parties on the electoral register would undermine the credibility of Nigeria’s political system.
However, the defendants, including INEC and the affected political parties, challenged the judgment, urging the Court of Appeal to set it aside.
With the latest ruling, Accord and the four other political parties remain recognised by law and eligible to participate in Nigeria’s electoral process.