Appeal Court Fixes July 7 to Hear ADC, Four Others’ Deregistration Challenge

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has scheduled July 7 for the hearing of appeals filed by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, and three other political parties challenging their deregistration.

The date was fixed on Thursday by a three-member panel of the appellate court after directing all parties involved to file and exchange their legal arguments ahead of the hearing.

During proceedings, senior lawyer Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, representing the Accord Party, informed the court that the record of appeal and the certified judgment of the Federal High Court were only obtained on Monday and had since been transmitted to the appellate court in compliance with legal requirements.

Adetunbi subsequently requested a short adjournment to allow the parties sufficient time to prepare and exchange their briefs of argument before the substantive hearing.

With no objections from any of the parties, the presiding justice, Abubakar Mohammed, granted the request and adjourned all related appeals to July 7.

The legal battle stems from a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, who ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC and four other political parties for allegedly failing to meet constitutional requirements during the previous election cycle.

Interestingly, INEC had opposed the deregistration, maintaining that the affected parties met the constitutional conditions and presenting evidence to support its position. Despite the electoral body's objections, the court proceeded with the deregistration order.

However, in a significant twist, the Court of Appeal on June 16 suspended the execution of the Federal High Court judgment. The appellate court held that the ruling was delivered in clear violation of its earlier directive ordering that proceedings in the matter be stayed pending further action.

The July 7 hearing is expected to determine the fate of the affected political parties and could have far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of future elections.