The Court of Appeal in Abuja has delivered a major victory to five Nigerian political parties after setting aside the Federal High Court judgment that ordered their deregistration, faulting the reasoning and procedure adopted by Justice Peter Lifu.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed declared the earlier decision against the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) a nullity.
The appellate court held that the Federal High Court was wrong to assume jurisdiction over the case in the first place, ruling that the suit upon which the deregistration order was based was incompetent.
The original action was instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which sought to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the five parties for allegedly failing to satisfy constitutional requirements for continued registration.
Justice Lifu had, on June 15, ordered INEC to deregister the affected parties, concluding that they failed to meet the electoral performance requirements prescribed under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
However, the Court of Appeal disagreed.
According to the appellate court, the NFFL was a non-juristic entity when it instituted the action on December 8, 2025, meaning there was no competent plaintiff capable of initiating the proceedings at the time. The court consequently held that there was no valid suit upon which the Federal High Court could have based such a far-reaching order.
The appellate court also faulted Justice Lifu's assessment of the evidence, holding that the lower court failed to adequately consider evidence indicating that some of the affected parties had won elective positions in previous elections.
The judges further ruled that the subsequent defection of elected politicians from the parties under which they originally won elections did not erase the fact that those parties had secured electoral victories.
Appeal Court Faults Justice Lifu for Ignoring Earlier Order
Perhaps the strongest criticism concerned Justice Lifu's decision to proceed with the case despite an earlier directive from the Court of Appeal.
On May 22, the appellate court had ordered a stay of proceedings pending the determination of appeals arising from earlier decisions in the matter. Despite the subsisting order, Justice Lifu proceeded to deliver his deregistration judgment on June 15.
The Court of Appeal subsequently stayed execution of that judgment on June 16, saying the Federal High Court had acted in disregard of the appellate court's earlier directive.
In its final judgment, the appellate court again strongly criticised that action, describing what occurred as a form of “judicial impertinence” and referring to Supreme Court authorities on judicial insubordination and respect for the hierarchy of courts.
ADC, Accord and Others Remain Registered
With the June 15 judgment now set aside, the Court of Appeal affirmed that the ADC, Accord, APP, AA and ZLP remain duly registered political parties.
The ruling effectively removes the immediate legal threat to their continued participation in Nigeria's electoral process arising from the NFFL suit.
The decision is also significant ahead of the 2027 general elections because Justice Lifu's original judgment had not only ordered the parties' deregistration but also restrained INEC from recognising their activities or accepting candidates nominated by them for future elections.
For the five opposition parties, the latest decision represents more than a technical courtroom victory: the Court of Appeal has effectively ruled that the legal foundation upon which their deregistration was ordered was fundamentally defective.
Justice Lifu's deregistration order is therefore no longer standing — and, barring any successful further appeal, ADC, Accord, APP, AA and ZLP remain firmly on Nigeria's political map.
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