Appeal Court Restores Five Political Parties, Overturns Federal High Court Deregistration

Nigeria's political landscape received a significant boost after the Court of Appeal in Abuja overturned a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of five political parties.

The appellate court nullified the earlier decision, ruling that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case. It held that the suit was filed by an entity without the legal capacity to institute the action, rendering the entire proceedings and judgment invalid.

The affected political parties—African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP)—therefore retain their legal status following the appellate court's decision.

The Court of Appeal also faulted the trial court for failing to properly assess evidence presented during the proceedings. It noted that records before the court showed that some of the affected parties had won elective positions in previous elections, an indication that they remained active participants in Nigeria's democratic process.

The ruling effectively brings to an end the uncertainty created by the Federal High Court's decision, which had raised concerns among political stakeholders ahead of forthcoming elections.

Legal observers had questioned the High Court's judgment, particularly because the Court of Appeal had earlier directed the trial court to suspend proceedings while related issues were being determined. The appellate court subsequently described the continuation of the case despite that directive as a fundamental error.

The decision has been welcomed as one that reinforces judicial adherence to due process and preserves political pluralism by ensuring that duly registered parties are not removed from the electoral system without strict compliance with constitutional and legal requirements.

Attention is now expected to shift to the National Judicial Council (NJC), which may consider issues arising from the conduct of the proceedings following the observations made by the Court of Appeal.