As parties say “What Justice Lifu did was dare the Court of Appeal”
current matters
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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja, requesting a stay of execution of the Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu had Monday, June 15 ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission IINEC to deregister the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
However ,at Tuesday’s proceedings before a three-member panel of the appellate court, INEC’s legal team said it was surprised that Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgment despite an earlier order of the Court of Appeal issued on May 22, which, according to the commission, was meant to halt the delivery of the verdict.
The commission further stated that it was not officially notified of the judgment and only became aware of the ruling through media reports. The commission told the court it was backing the notice of appeal filed by the affected political parties.
“My Lords, we are aware of an order that this court made on May 22, which stopped the delivery of the judgment of the lower court, which was initially reserved for delivery on June 5. We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgment. We only saw it as breaking news in the media. We therefore do not oppose the application of the appellant to stay the execution of the judgment.”
Counsel to the parties argued that the Federal High Court acted in disregard of the judicial hierarchy, warning that the judgment could disrupt by-elections scheduled to hold in six states on June 20.
They urged the Court of Appeal to exercise its supervisory powers and immediately suspend the enforcement of the judgment pending the determination of the appeal.
“Sincerely, my Lords, a lot has happened to the judiciary and this profession. What the trial judge did was dare this Court of Appeal by insisting that no one could arrest his judgment, even after his attention was drawn to the stay order from this court.
“The action of the trial judge calls for swift and extraordinary measures from this court. We have come to the stage where this court should press the reset button.
“We are calling on this court to exercise disciplinary jurisdiction under Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. We urge this court to take disciplinary steps by immediately suspending that judgment.
“This court has the power to protect its own integrity. We pray this court suspends the judgment immediately without further delay.”
A group known as the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), had filed the suit arguing that the five parties failed to satisfy the requirements of Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution ( as amended)and the Electoral Act 2022.
The group contended that political parties were required to win at least one elective seat or secure a minimum of 25 per cent of votes in at least one state in a presidential election to remain relevant.
