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A ruling that ordered the deregistration of five political parties in Nigeria has been suspended by the Court of Appeal, which also criticised the lower court judge for defying its earlier directive.
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision on Tuesday, granted a stay of execution of the judgement that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) from its register.
A three-member panel led by Justice A.B. Mohammed said the trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu of the High Court in Abuja, had flouted an order issued by the appeal court on May 22, which instructed him to suspend proceedings.
“Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court. The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution,” the panel ruled.
It described the high court’s action as “the highest form of judicial impertinence” and noted that the Supreme Court had previously ruled that such conduct “amounts to judicial rascality.”
“The application for stay of execution is hereby granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed,” the appellate court held.
The High Court had on Monday ordered INEC to deregister the five parties, ruling that they had failed to secure the required 25 percent of votes in a state during a presidential election or win any elective seat at the national, state or local government level.
Justice Lifu had also barred INEC from recognising the parties, accepting their candidates’ nominations, or allowing their participation in the 2027 general elections.
The ruling came in response to a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, which argued that the parties had performed poorly in the 2023 elections and subsequent by-elections.
