Appeal Court adjourns ADC deregistration case until July 7

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has adjourned the hearing of an appeal challenging the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress, Accord Party, and three other political parties until July 7. The adjournment from June 25 was granted to allow all parties to file and exchange their briefs of argument before the substantive hearing. Counsel for the Accord Party, Musibau Adetunbi SAN, informed the court that the record of appeal and the Federal High Court judgment were recently obtained and transmitted to the appellate court. The appeal challenges a Federal High Court judgment that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC to deregister these parties for allegedly failing to meet constitutional requirements. However, INEC has opposed the deregistration, arguing that the parties met the constitutional threshold and won elective positions. The Court of Appeal previously ordered a stay of execution of the Federal High Court judgment, preventing INEC from enforcing the deregistration pending the appeal's determination. The suit was initiated by the National Forum of Former Legislators, which argued that the parties did not meet electoral performance benchmarks in the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections.