A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue the registration access code for the All Democratic Alliance (ADA) within 72 hours.
The ruling, delivered on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu, is seen as a major legal victory for the Akin Rickett-led leadership of the political association as it pushes for formal recognition as a political party ahead of future elections.
The court directed INEC to immediately generate and release the access code to ADA’s Protem Secretary to enable the party proceed with its registration process.
Justice Lifu held that INEC acted wrongly when it released the access code to Umar Ardo, who the court said was not the recognized Protem Secretary of the association.
According to the court, every action taken based on that decision was invalid.
The judge declared INEC’s earlier move illegal, wrongful, null and void.
The court also ordered the electoral body to reopen its registration portal for one week. This will allow ADA to upload all required documents, including its membership register and other necessary records required by law.
The legal dispute began after the plaintiff, through his counsel Stephen Atabo, challenged INEC’s decision to grant portal access to Umar Ardo instead of the recognized leadership of the association.
The plaintiff argued that INEC violated existing electoral laws by recognizing Ardo, who was neither the Protem National Chairman nor Secretary of ADA.
He further asked the court to nullify all information uploaded to INEC’s portal by Umar Ardo on behalf of ADA.
According to the plaintiff, those submissions did not align with the official letter of intent earlier submitted to the commission and should not be recognized.
The plaintiff also requested an order compelling INEC to release the access code to the legitimate leadership of ADA for proper submission of documents needed for registration.
In addition, the suit sought an order directing INEC to formally register ADA as a political party and issue its certificate of registration.
The plaintiff equally asked the court to extend deadlines earlier fixed for the submission of the party’s digital membership register and candidate nomination documents.
After reviewing submissions from all parties involved in the matter, Justice Lifu ruled in favour of the plaintiff.
The judge affirmed that Umar Ardo had no legal authority to act on behalf of ADA in the registration process.
As a result, every step taken under his authority was set aside.
