The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja to suspend the enforcement of a Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
During proceedings before the appellate court on Tuesday, INEC, through its lawyer Haliru Mohammed, stated that it was surprised Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgment despite an earlier Court of Appeal order halting its delivery. The commission said it was not informed of the judgment date and only became aware of the decision through media reports.
INEC expressed support for the appeal filed by the affected political parties and did not oppose their request for a stay of execution.
Counsel to the ADC, Shuaibu Aruwa (SAN), criticised the trial court’s action, arguing that it disregarded the authority of the Court of Appeal and urged the appellate court to take immediate steps to suspend the judgment.
The Federal High Court had ordered the deregistration of ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (A), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), ruling that they failed to satisfy constitutional requirements for continued recognition.
The judgment followed a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators, which argued that the parties failed to meet the electoral performance benchmarks outlined in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution and relevant electoral laws.
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