Appeal Court Adjourns ADC, Four Others Deregistration Case

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday adjourned until July 7 the hearing of an appeal challenging the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party and three other political parties.

The appellate court shifted the matter from June 25 to enable parties in the suit file and exchange their briefs of argument ahead of the substantive hearing.

At the proceedings, counsel for the Accord Party, Mr Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), informed the three-member panel led by Justice Abubakar Mohammed that the record of appeal and the judgment of the Federal High Court were only obtained on Monday and had since been transmitted to the appellate court.

Adetunbi subsequently sought a short adjournment to allow parties file and exchange their processes.

The application was not opposed by other parties in the suit, prompting the court to adjourn the matter until 2 p.m. on July 7.

Although the senior advocate requested three days to file and exchange briefs, Justice Mohammed explained that some members of the panel would be out of Abuja next week on official engagements, making July 7 the earliest convenient date for the hearing.

The appeal arose from a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party.

Justice Lifu held that the parties failed to satisfy constitutional requirements necessary to retain their registration and participate in future elections.

However, INEC opposed the deregistration, maintaining that the affected parties met the constitutional threshold and had won elective positions in previous elections.

The commission tendered certificates of return issued to candidates elected on the platforms of the parties as part of its defence.

In a related development, the Court of Appeal had on June 16 ordered a stay of execution of the Federal High Court judgment, restraining INEC from enforcing the deregistration pending the determination of the appeal.

In a unanimous ruling, the appellate court criticised the delivery of the judgment despite an earlier order directing that proceedings in the matter be suspended, describing the action as inconsistent with the hierarchy of courts.

The suit was instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators, which argued that the affected parties failed to meet the electoral performance benchmarks stipulated under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.

The group contended that the parties did not attain the constitutionally required electoral performance in the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections and therefore ought to be deregistered.

INEC, however, insisted that the parties remained qualified for registration, citing electoral victories recorded by their candidates across the country.

Source: The Punch