Tension escalated on Monday, May 4, 2026, as scores of protesters stormed the Federal High Court in Abuja over an ongoing suit seeking the deregistration of several opposition political parties.
The demonstrators, operating under the banner of Concerned Northern Nigeria Stakeholders, marched from the National Assembly to the court premises in Wuse.
They chanted solidarity songs and displayed placards with messages such as “No Opposition, No Election,” “Tinubu, Let Our Democracy Breathe,” and “AGF Must Be Neutral.”
Security operatives, including personnel from the Department of State Services (DSS), barricaded the court entrance and prevented the protesters from accessing the complex.
Addressing journalists at the scene, the group’s leader, Banki Sharrif, accused the Federal Government of interfering with the judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He warned President Bola Tinubu against any actions that could undermine judicial independence.
“We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately cease all forms of interference, overt or covert, with the judiciary. Courts must never be reduced to instruments of political engineering,” Sharrif said.
He added that weakening opposition parties signals a lack of confidence in the government’s legitimacy, stressing that “democracy thrives on competition” and that elections without credible opposition amount to staged exercises.
The protest is linked to a suit before the Federal High Court in which the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, backed efforts to compel INEC to deregister parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party, and Zenith Labour Party.
The AGF argued in court filings that the continued existence of these parties violates the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act, claiming they fail to meet legal requirements for registration.
Sharrif urged the Attorney General to remain neutral and avoid politicising his office, warning that any judicial endorsement of such deregistrations through technicalities could lead to disenfranchisement, deepen divisions, and trigger widespread unrest.
The group further cautioned that public trust in the judiciary would erode if it is seen as an extension of the executive, stating: “When courts fail, the streets become the courtroom.”
The protest highlights the growing political tensions ahead of future elections, with concerns over the shrinking of democratic space and the future of multiparty politics in Nigeria.
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