Court of Appeal stays Federal High Court order to deregister ADC and four political parties

The Appeal Court has suspended the deregistration of ADC and four other political parties, a move applauded by the Labour Party. This decision is a victory Read More: https://punchng.com/abure-led-lp-applauds-acourt-for-halting-deregistration-of-adc-others/

The court of appeal in Abuja has stayed the execution of a federal high court judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.   In a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, a three-member panel led by Abba Mohammed held that Peter Lifu, a federal high court judge, acted in disregard of an earlier order of the appellate court when he proceeded to deliver the judgement.   The panel said the lower court had been directed on May 22 to stay proceedings in the matter pending the determination of appeals filed before the court of appeal.   According to the appellate court, Lifu proceeded with the case despite being aware of the subsisting order.     The court described the action as a violation of the judicial hierarchy and an affront to the authority of the appellate court.   “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This court has supervisory authority over the trial court. The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgement despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of courts and the 1999 Constitution,” Mohammed said.   “This court has the duty to invoke its powers to ensure that its orders are obeyed. The application for stay of execution is hereby granted. The enforcement of the judgement is stayed.”     The panel added that proceeding with the judgement in the face of a stay order amounted to “the highest form of judicial impertinence”.   Mohammed noted that the apex court had previously held that a judge who acts in such a manner is “unfit for the bench” because such conduct amounts to “judicial rascality”.   The appellate court subsequently granted the application seeking a stay of execution of the judgement and fixed June 25 for the hearing of the appeals.   The appellants were directed to file their processes within three days, while the respondents were given two days to respond.   On Monday, the federal high court had ordered INEC to deregister the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).   The judge held that the parties failed to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.   He also restrained INEC from recognising the parties, accepting nominations from them, or permitting them to participate in the 2027 general election.   The judgement followed a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the parties no longer met the constitutional thresholds required to retain their registration.

The battle over   deregistration  of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and four other political parties took a dramatic turn, yesterday, as the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted execution of the Federal High Court judgment ordering their removal from the register of Independent National Electroral Commission, INEC. The post Relief for ADC, AP, other parties as A-Court stops deregistration appeared first on Vanguard News.

APPEAL COURT ORDERS STAY OF EXECUTION OF ORDER DEREGISTERING ADC AND OTHERS. The Court of Appeal has ordered Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, to stay execution of the verdict by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court ordering the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord, and four other political parties. In a unanimous […] The post Appeal Court Orders Stay Of Execution Of 0rder Deregistrating ADC, Four Others appeared first on Information Nigeria.

 The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking a stay of execution of a judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.   In a judgment on Monday, Peter Lifu, a federal high court judge, ordered the deregistration of ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) over their failure to meet the conditions for retaining their registration.   INEC has now backed an application filed by the affected parties, seeking to suspend the enforcement of the judgement pending the determination of an appeal.   At Tuesday’s proceedings, INEC said it was surprised that the high court judge delivered the judgement despite an earlier order of the appellate court halting its delivery.   Haliru Mohammed, counsel to the commission, told the three-member panel that INEC was neither notified of the judgement date nor served with any communication indicating that the decision would be delivered.   “My Lords, we are aware of an order that this court made on May 22, which stopped the delivery of the judgement of the lower court, which was initially reserved for delivery on June 5,” the lawyer said.   “We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgement. 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 judgement.”   Shuaibu Aruwa, counsel to the ADC, alleged that the trial judge notified the party of the judgement through WhatsApp.   “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 judgement, even after his attention was drawn to the stay order from this court,” he said.   “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.”     Aruwa urged the appellate court to immediately suspend the judgement, arguing that it has the authority to protect the integrity of its own orders.   Other parties in the suit also warned that allowing the judgement to stand could create complications ahead of the by-elections scheduled for June 20 in six states.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ordered the stay of execution of the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja which on Monday deregistered the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and four other political parties. The controversial judgment which directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deregister the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and four other […] BREAKING: Appeal Court suspends execution of judgment on deregistration of ADC, 4 others