The Court of Appeal in Abuja has stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from enforcing a Federal High Court judgment directing the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
In a unanimous ruling delivered on Tuesday, a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed granted a stay of execution of the judgment and faulted the lower court for proceeding with the matter despite an earlier directive from the appellate court.
The appellate court held that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court acted in disregard of a subsisting order issued on May 22, directing him to stay proceedings pending the determination of appeals before the court.
According to the panel, the trial judge proceeded to deliver judgment despite being aware of the appellate court’s order.
“Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This court has supervisory authority over the trial court,” Mohammed said.
“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 courts and the 1999 Constitution.”
The court said it was duty-bound to ensure compliance with its orders and preserve the integrity of the judicial process.
“This court has the duty to invoke its powers to ensure that its orders are obeyed,” Mohammed said.
“The application for stay of execution is hereby granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
AN AFFRONT TO JUDICIAL AUTHORITY
The appellate court described the decision of the lower court to continue with the matter despite the stay order as a serious affront to judicial authority.
The panel added that proceeding with the judgment in the face of a subsisting stay order amounted to “the highest form of judicial impertinence”.
Mohammed noted that the Supreme Court had previously held that a judge who acts in such a manner is “unfit for the bench”, describing such conduct as “judicial rascality”.
The court subsequently fixed June 25 for the hearing of the appeals challenging the deregistration ruling.
It directed the appellants to file their processes within three days, while the respondents were given two days to respond.
On Monday, Justice Lifu had ordered INEC to deregister the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The trial court held that the parties failed to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
The judge also restrained INEC from recognising the parties, accepting nominations from them, or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general election.
The judgment followed a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties no longer met the constitutional thresholds required to retain their registration.
