Court Orders INEC To Deregister ADC, Accord, Three Others

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties for failing to meet constitutional requirements for political parties in Nigeria.

Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgement on Monday, ruling that the affected parties failed to secure the required 25 per cent of votes in the last general elections as stipulated by law.

The parties affected by the order are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord (A), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

The court also directed INEC not to allow the parties to participate in future elections, including the 2027 general elections, having failed to meet the constitutional threshold for continued registration.

Before delivering the judgement, Justice Lifu dismissed multiple preliminary objections filed by the defendants.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators. The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and INEC were joined as defendants in the case.

The plaintiff argued that the affected parties failed to satisfy constitutional requirements relating to electoral spread and performance.

According to the group, political parties are required to secure at least 25 per cent of votes in prescribed elections to retain their relevance and registration under the law.

The forum urged the court to order the deregistration of the parties, maintaining that none of the defendants had successfully challenged its arguments.

The court subsequently granted the reliefs sought by the plaintiff and ordered the deregistration of the five political parties.

(NAN)