The Court of Appeal in Abuja has pushed the hearing on an appeal against the deregistration of African Democratic Congress, Accord Party and three other parties to July 7, 2026. The case, moved from June 25, was adjourned to give parties time to file and exchange briefs.

At Thursday’s sitting, Accord Party’s lawyer Musibau Adetunbi SAN told the 3-man panel led by Justice Abubakar Mohammed that the record of appeal and Federal High Court judgment were only received Monday and had just been transmitted. He asked for a short adjournment to file processes, which other parties did not oppose. The court picked July 7 at 2pm, as Justice Mohammed said some panel members would be away next week for official duties.

The appeal challenges a Federal High Court judgment by Justice Peter Lifu ordering INEC to deregister ADC, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party for allegedly failing constitutional performance benchmarks. INEC opposed the order, arguing the parties met requirements and had produced elected officials, tendering certificates of return. The appellate court had already on June 16 granted a stay of execution, stopping INEC from enforcing the deregistration until the appeal is decided. It also faulted Justice Lifu for delivering judgment despite an earlier directive to suspend proceedings, calling it a breach of court hierarchy.

Source: Punch news.