By Stephen Simon
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Accord Party (AP), over alleged failure to meet constitutional requirements for continued recognition.
Justice Peter Odo Lifu issued the order on Monday while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL).
The affected parties are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action People’s Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Action Alliance (AA).
The court directed INEC to immediately withdraw recognition from the parties and refrain from accepting nominations, correspondence or political activities from them for the purpose of participating in future elections.
Justice Lifu further restrained the electoral commission from recognising the parties’ congresses, primaries, campaigns or any other activities connected with electoral participation, and ordered them to cease presenting themselves as registered political parties.
The judgment is expected to have far-reaching political implications if upheld on appeal, particularly for prominent politicians associated with some of the affected parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, was instituted by the NFFL against INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), with the five political parties joined as defendants.
The plaintiff argued that the parties had failed to satisfy the minimum electoral performance thresholds stipulated under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
According to the group, the affected parties neither secured the constitutionally required percentage of votes in presidential elections nor won elective offices at the ward, local government, state or federal levels.
The NFFL contended that despite what it described as persistent electoral underperformance, INEC continued to accord the parties recognition in violation of constitutional and statutory provisions.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, the Chairman of the NFFL Board of Trustees, Igbokwe Raphael Nnanna, maintained that the parties had failed to win any elective seat since their registration and therefore no longer qualified to retain their status as registered political parties.
The group further argued that allowing such parties to continue operating would undermine electoral integrity, increase administrative burdens on INEC and contribute to voter confusion during elections.
Among the reliefs sought were orders compelling INEC to enforce constitutional benchmarks for political parties and to deregister those that failed to meet the prescribed requirements.
During proceedings, counsel to the NFFL, Yakubu Abdullahi Ruba (SAN), supported by Gbenga Makanjuola, urged the court to grant all the reliefs sought by the plaintiff.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), also backed the action through his counsel, Joshua Olatoke (SAN), who argued in favour of enforcing constitutional provisions relating to party registration and recognition.
INEC, however, opposed the suit, contending that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to institute the action and urging the court to dismiss it for lacking merit.
Counsel for some of the affected parties, including Musibau Adetunmibi (SAN) for the Accord Party and Shuaib Eneojo Aruwa (SAN) for the ADC, similarly urged the court to reject the suit, describing it as frivolous, baseless and unwarranted.
Despite the objections, Justice Lifu ruled in favour of the plaintiff and granted the orders sought.
The decision is expected to trigger legal and political reactions, with appeals likely as the affected parties seek to overturn the judgment and retain their eligibility to participate in future elections.
