The Federal High Court in Abuja has suspended delivery of judgment in a suit seeking the deregistration of several political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party and Action Alliance (AA).
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court was expected to deliver judgment on Friday in the case brought by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators.
However, proceedings took a different turn after developments at the Court of Appeal stalled the matter.
When the case was called, the court registrar informed parties that the judgment would no longer be delivered as earlier scheduled. The registrar explained that a new date would be communicated later.
The latest development followed an order granted by the Court of Appeal in favour of the Accord Party. The appellate court had last week approved a stay of proceedings, effectively halting further action in the matter pending the determination of issues before it.
The suit, which has attracted significant attention within political circles, seeks the removal of several registered political parties from Nigeria’s electoral system. Among the parties listed as defendants are the ADC, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), Accord Party, Zenith Labour Party and others.
The National Forum of Former Legislators argues that the affected parties failed to satisfy constitutional and electoral requirements needed to justify their continued registration. According to the group, political parties are expected to demonstrate a minimum level of electoral performance and national spread as stipulated by law.
The plaintiffs insist that the parties failed to secure the required electoral threshold in previous elections and therefore should not remain on the register of political parties maintained by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Reacting to Friday’s postponement, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, Raphael Igbokwe, expressed dissatisfaction with the decision of the Court of Appeal to halt proceedings.
He said the forum had already approached the Supreme Court to challenge the stay of proceedings granted by the appellate court.
“We are concerned that a matter which had reached the stage of judgment has now been stalled through a stay of proceedings.
“In practical terms, it amounts to an arrest of judgment. Nevertheless, we remain committed to pursuing all lawful avenues to ensure that the issues raised in this case are resolved in the interest of strengthening Nigeria’s democracy and advancing constitutional and electoral jurisprudence,” he said.
Igbokwe maintained that the legal action was not targeted at any particular political party but was aimed at promoting democratic accountability and strengthening constitutional governance in the country.
With the judgment now postponed indefinitely, the legal battle over the future of the affected parties appears set to continue through the appellate courts, potentially delaying a final resolution of the matter for months.
