INEC Opposes Suit to Deregister ADC, Four Others
The Independent National Electoral Commission has dealt a significant blow to a suit seeking the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress and four other political parties, filing a court submission that openly rejects the application on constitutional grounds.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026 and filed on April 23 by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, is asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel INEC to deregister the ADC, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party, Accord Party, and Zenith Labour Party, arguing that the parties failed to meet the constitutional threshold under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
Court documents show that INEC, in its filing before the court, rejected the application outright, insisting it failed to meet the constitutional and legal requirements for deregistering a political party. The commission argued that none of the recognised constitutional grounds for deregistration, including failure to meet electoral performance thresholds or breach of registration requirements, had been established against the ADC.
“The power to deregister political parties is neither discretionary nor subject to political pressure, but strictly governed by extant laws and constitutional provisions,” the commission stated in its submission.
The electoral commission further argued that the matter requires judicial interpretation and that the conditions cited by the plaintiffs have not been conclusively established to justify the deregistration request.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has however backed the suit, arguing in court filings that the continued existence of the affected parties violates the 1999 Constitution and undermines Nigeria’s electoral integrity, adding that unless the court intervenes, INEC would continue to act in breach of its constitutional duty.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court had earlier fixed May 5 for hearing in the matter after granting the plaintiffs leave to amend their originating summons to include additional parties allegedly in breach of electoral regulations.
Legal analysts say INEC’s position significantly weakens the suit and could influence the court’s final ruling, given the commission’s statutory role as the regulator of political parties in Nigeria. The filing has also been read in some quarters as institutional resistance to what critics describe as an attempt to deploy the judiciary for partisan ends ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Phrank Shaibu, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, described the deregistration bid as politically motivated. “What we are witnessing is the unravelling of a poorly scripted political ambush designed to cripple opposition voices,” he said, adding that INEC’s stance confirmed the case lacked genuine legal merit.
“No democracy survives where the ruling party seeks to eliminate competition through the back door. Nigeria is bigger than any administration, and its democratic space cannot be shrunk to accommodate political insecurity,” Shaibu warned.
The matter remains before the court. As of the time of this report, neither INEC nor the ADC had issued official public statements on the development.