Attempts to deregister main opposition parties in Nigeria

 

On June 15, 2026, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister five political parties namely African Democratic Congress, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party over their alleged failure to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration. The suit was filed by a group known as the National Forum of Former Legislators.

According to the plaintiffs, the affected parties failed to meet constitutional benchmarks as stated in Section 225A, including securing at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or winning at least one elective seat at the federal, state or local government level. The former legislators argued that the parties performed poorly in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, failing to secure representation across key levels of government. They maintained that the continued recognition of the parties was inconsistent with constitutional provisions and weakened the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process. This is not true as the parties actually won legislative seats in 2023 General Elections and subsequent local government elections.

In his ruling, Justice Lifu held that INEC should deregister the parties for breaching the constitutional requirements governing political party registration and operations. The court also granted an order restraining the affected parties from participating in elections or engaging in political activities, including campaigns, rallies and primary elections. Furthermore, the court barred INEC from recognising or conducting official business with the parties pending compliance with the judgment.

The dust hasn’t fully settled on that contentious issue when the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on Friday, June 26, 2026 set aside its earlier judgement directing INEC to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress as a political party. The judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter. The judge had on December 10, 2025 ordered INEC to register NDC. Most legal opinions have actually indicated that the judge should not have reviewed his own judgement but should have directed the plaintiff to appeal his judgement if dissatisfied.

As it relates to Justice Peter Lifu’s judgement, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 strongly rebuked the judge, describing his actions as "judicial rascality" and "judicial impertinence". The appellate panel stated that Justice Lifu flagrantly flouted a May 22, 2026 Court of Appeal order that had explicitly directed him to put all proceedings and actions on hold regarding the matter.  By proceeding to deliver his judgment despite the active stay of proceedings, the appellate court ruled that Justice Lifu exhibited the "gravest form of judicial misconduct" and a brazen violation of judicial hierarchy. The three-member panel, led by Justice A. B. Mohammed, suspended the execution of Justice Lifu’s deregistration order and scheduled a full hearing to review the substantive case.

As a Political Scientist and Psephologist, I am very concerned with the way Nigeria’s political class is going about with the preparations for the 2027 General Elections which falls due in about six months’ time. The attempt to deregister political parties after they have successfully conducted their party primaries and are about to upload the details of their nominees on INEC’s Candidate Nomination Portal smacks of acts of political brinksmanship. The electoral management body, INEC is the constitutional body empowered to register and deregister political parties but that role seems to have now been usurped by the courts. This is an unwholesome development.

The tragic development can be best understood in the context that it is the main opposition parties that are targeted for deregistration. The opposition parties in Nigeria have pointed accusing fingers at the the presidency as being behind their ordeal. Though the accused has been vehemently denying these allegations and accusations but denial does not necessarily connote innocence.

Prior to this attempt to deregister these opposition political parties, there have been sponsored violence on ADC party offices and members in states like Kaduna, Lagos, Ekiti, Edo and Cross Rivers, to mention but a few. Orchestrated leadership crises have also been seen in some of the political parties, especially ADC as there are now three factions in that party one loyal to David Mark, another loyal to Dumebi Kachikwu while the third faction is loyal to Nafiu Bala.

There is a viral video of the Chief of Staff to the president, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila who charged Hon. Leke Abejide, then of the ADC not to defect from the party but to “Stay In ADC, Fight Them, Scatter Them, We Like What You’re Doing.”  It has also been alleged that the arrowhead of the National Forum of Former Legislators who went to court to seek the deregistration of the five opposition political parties works in the Office of the Chief of Staff to the president. These two instances have shown that the sustained attempts to factionalise opposition parties and have them deregistered by INEC is being stage managed.

The question on the lips of well-meaning Nigerians is, why does the promoters of these deregistration plot want to shrink the political space further when the ruling party already have 31 out of 36 state governors, more than two-third majority in the Senate, House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly? Nigeria is already a de facto one-party state though, on paper or de jure,  it remains a multi-party democracy. In my own humble opinion, the presidency does not need to shut out main opposition parties in order to pave way for a landslide and “moonslide” victory in 2027.

The most logical explanation to what the presidency is purportedly doing to the main opposition parties is that the ruling party fears a political revolt by the people who in the last three years have been experiencing high cost of living, soaring unemployment, crushing poverty and scary insecurity.  Presidency fears political upset because its party, APC  hasn’t deliver sufficient dividends of democracy that will warrant overwhelming support in 2027 General Elections. Unfortunately, President Bola Tinubu is a known democrat and many of us are amazed that he is tolerating this level of political brigandage against opposition parties. This is preposterous!

I am concerned with the way courts are now compelling INEC to register political parties even when preparations for the 2027 elections have reached an advanced stage with the party primaries done and candidate nomination underway. A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, June 29, 2026 ordered INEC to generate and release an access code to the Chief Akin Rickett-led leadership of the All Democratic Alliance to enable the association to continue its registration process as a political party. Justice Peter Lifu, who delivered the judgment, directed INEC to issue the access code to the association’s Protem Secretary within 72 hours and further ordered the electoral body to reopen its registration portal for one week to allow the upload of the party’s membership register and other statutory documents.

Recall that Nigeria Democratic Congress and National Democratic Party were in February this year registered by INEC on the order of courts. The Commission naturally should appeal the decision of High Courts whenever it compels it to register a political association it has deemed not fit to merit registration as a political party rather than just complying with such court order.

I.G: @jideojong