The 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 after finding that they failed to secure at least 25 per cent of votes in the last general elections as required by law.
The parties affected by the ruling are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party and Zenith Labour Party.
Justice Lifu also dismissed the preliminary objections filed by the defendants and ordered INEC not to allow the parties to participate in future elections, including the 2027 general elections, for failing to satisfy the constitutional threshold.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, was instituted by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators against the five political parties, with INEC listed as the first defendant and the Attorney-General of the Federation also joined in the case.
The plaintiff argued that the parties had failed to meet constitutional requirements relating to electoral performance and spread, insisting that political parties must secure at least 25 per cent of votes in specified elections to remain registered under Nigerian law.
The group further maintained that none of the affected parties had effectively challenged its arguments, urging the court to order their deregistration.
The court subsequently ruled in its favour, directing INEC to remove the parties from the list of registered political parties in the country.
