A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the deregistration of five political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), over their failure to meet constitutional requirements for political parties in Nigeria.
Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Peter Lifu directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the affected parties, ruling that they failed to satisfy the electoral performance threshold required by law.
The parties affected by the ruling are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord (A), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Justice Lifu also ordered INEC not to allow the parties to participate in future elections, including the 2027 general elections.
The suit was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, which argued that the parties failed to secure the constitutionally required spread of votes during previous elections.
INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation were joined as defendants in the case.
According to the plaintiffs, political parties are expected to meet certain electoral benchmarks, including securing at least 25 per cent of votes in prescribed elections, to retain their legal status.
The group maintained that the affected parties no longer met the constitutional conditions for continued registration and urged the court to compel INEC to remove them from its list of recognised political parties.
Justice Lifu, in his ruling, dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the defendants before granting the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs.
The judgment is expected to have significant political implications ahead of the 2027 general elections, particularly for opposition parties seeking to build coalitions and challenge the ruling party at the national level.
It remains unclear whether the affected parties will appeal the ruling.
