The Court of Appeal in Abuja has suspended the enforcement of a Federal High Court judgment that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
In a ruling on Tuesday, the appellate court ordered that the judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu remain on hold pending the hearing and determination of the appeal against the decision.
The move comes after INEC and the affected political parties challenged the judgment, arguing that Justice Lifu proceeded to deliver the verdict despite a subsisting May 22 order of the Court of Appeal said to have halted further proceedings in the matter.
Among the parties affected by the deregistration order are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP). Their lawyers had urged the appellate court to grant a stay of execution, warning that implementation of the judgment could disrupt by-elections scheduled to hold in six states on June 20.
More to follow…
