The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja to suspend the enforcement of a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties. INEC also backed an appeal filed by the affected parties against the ruling delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.During proceedings before a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, INEC's legal team, led by Haliru Mohammed, said the commission was surprised that the lower court delivered its judgment despite an earlier order from the appellate court stopping the ruling from being issued. According to INEC, it was not formally notified that judgment would be delivered and only became aware of the decision through media reports."My Lords, we are aware of an order that this court made on May 22, which stopped the delivery of the judgment of the lower court, which was initially reserved for delivery on June 5. We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgment. We only saw it as breaking news in the media. We therefore do not oppose the application of the appellant to stay the execution of the judgment."Counsel to the ADC, Shuaibu Aruwa (SAN), also told the appellate court that Justice Lifu informed the party about the judgment through WhatsApp. Aruwa argued that the trial judge disregarded the authority of the Court of Appeal and urged the appellate court to take disciplinary action."What the trial judge did was dare this Court of Appeal by insisting that no one could arrest his judgment, even after his attention was drawn to the stay order from this court. The action of the trial judge calls for swift and extraordinary measures from this court. We urge this court to take disciplinary steps by immediately suspending that judgment."Lawyers representing the affected political parties further argued that failure to suspend the judgment could create confusion ahead of scheduled by-elections in six states on June 20.They maintained that the Court of Appeal has supervisory powers to ensure that orders issued by higher courts are respected by lower courts. The appeal court panel continued hearing arguments from the various parties and is expected to make a decision on the application.The controversy stems from a Federal High Court judgment that directed INEC to deregister five political parties, the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP). Justice Lifu held that the parties failed to meet constitutional requirements necessary to retain their registration and participate in future elections.The judgment also barred INEC from recognising the parties, accepting nominations from them, or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general elections. Additionally, the court ordered the parties to stop presenting themselves as registered political parties in Nigeria.The suit was filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties had consistently failed to meet electoral performance thresholds outlined in Section 225A of the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.According to the plaintiffs, the parties failed to secure at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during presidential elections or win elective positions at the national, state, or local government levels.The NFFL argued that the continued registration of the parties undermines the integrity of Nigeria's electoral system, citing their poor performance in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections. The Court of Appeal is now being asked to determine whether the high court's judgment should remain in force pending the hearing of the substantive appeals.The post INEC seeks stay of execution on court judgement ordering deregistration of ADC and 4 others appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.
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