Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the deregistration of African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four others over failure to meet the constitutional requirements for political parties in the country.
The five political parties include ADC, Accord (A), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Delivering a judgment on Monday in a suit filed by a group,the National Forum of Former Legislators Justice Lifu ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the affected parties, having failed to secure 25 per cent of the votes in the last general elections in compliance with the provisions of the law.
The former legislators prayed the court to determine whether INEC has a constitutional obligation to deregister political parties that fail to meet the electoral performance thresholds set out in Section 2254 of the 1999 Constitution ( as amended) and reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC regulations.
The plaintiff, who also joined the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) in the suit, named INEC as the first defendant.
The forum argued that the affected political parties failed to meet constitutional requirements relating to electoral spread and performance.
It contended that political parties were required to secure at least 25 per cent of votes in prescribed elections to remain relevant under the law and said the ADC and the the four other parties performed poorly in both the 2023 general elections and by – elections conducted by INEC,thereby failing to win seats across key tiers of government.
It therefore urged the court to order the deregistration of the parties, insisting that none of the defendants had effectively countered the arguments.
Justice Lifu, who earlier dismissed all the multiple preliminary objections filed by the defendants, ordered INEC not to allow the parties to participate in the subsequent elections, including the 2027 general polls, having failed to meet the constitutional threshold.
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Meanwhile ,the camp of former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to the Federal High Court judgment ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the party.
The reaction was contained in a statement posted on X by Paul Ibe, the Media Aide to Atiku.
Describing the ruling as a manifestation of a bid to entrench a one-party state, Ibe revealed that a pending appeal and an active stay-of-action order already exist to counter the High Court’s decision.
Ibe, labelled it the “height of judicial rascality” and a desperate attempt by the ruling party to undermine the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.
He revealed that the High Court ruling directly violates a subsisting order from a higher court, explaining that the Court of Appeal had already intervened to halt the proceedings
“The so-called deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) @ADCNig along with other parties by Justice Peter Lifu may yet be the biggest manifestation of Tinubu’s hell-bent bid to undermine the opposition and entrench a defacto one-party state. The judgment is the height of judicial rascality.
“The Court of Appeal presided over by Justices Mohammed A. Danjuma, Adebunkunola A. Banjoko, Oyejoju O. Oyewumi had in Appeal CA/ABJ/CV/569/2026 and suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2025 ordered Justice Peter Lifu to stay further action on the matter until the hearing and determination of the Appeal before it. The hearing for the appeal was scheduled for the 27th of October 2026.
“That order was dated 22nd of May 2026.
Nigerians and the international community can see the level of desperation of government of the ruling party to either have their way in the 2027 elections or destroy our democracy that was purchased at a huge cost.” He said
Court Orders INEC To Deregister ADC,Accord and Three Others, Atiku's Camp Reacts
