The federal high court in Abuja on Friday postponed judgment in a case seeking the deregistration of five political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Accord Party, following the absence of the presiding judge.
Justice Peter Lifu had earlier scheduled June 5, 2026, to deliver judgment in the suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and several political parties.
However, lawyers and litigants who gathered at the court were informed after hours of waiting that the judge was away from Abuja and would not be sitting. Court officials said a new date for the judgment would be communicated to all parties.
The lawsuit seeks the deregistration of the ADC, Accord Party, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) over alleged violations of constitutional provisions governing political parties.
The matter had previously witnessed legal challenges from politicians and party members seeking to join the case or halt proceedings pending appeals. Among those affected by earlier rulings were members of the Accord Party and ADC who sought to participate in the proceedings.
In an earlier decision, Justice Lifu declined requests to suspend the case, ruling that delaying the proceedings could negatively affect preparations for upcoming elections. He maintained that no higher court had ordered the trial court to stop hearing the matter.
The court also dismissed several applications for joinder, noting that the political parties involved were already represented as defendants in the suit, making the inclusion of individual party members unnecessary.
During the final adoption of arguments, Yakubu Abdullahi Ruba (SAN), counsel to the plaintiff argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional requirements relating to electoral performance and national spread.
He urged the court to order their deregistration, insisting that the parties had not sufficiently rebutted the claims brought against them.
Representatives of the attorney general of the federation supported the court’s consideration of whether the parties had breached constitutional provisions, while lawyers representing the affected parties asked the court to dismiss the suit.
INEC, through its counsel, informed the court that it had already filed its response to the substantive application.
With judgment now postponed, the fate of the political parties involved remains uncertain pending a new date from the court.
