Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has welcomed the court
of appeal’s stay of execution verdict on the federal high court judgement that
ordered the deregistration of five political parties, including the African
Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, a three-member panel led
by Abba Mohammed held that Peter Lifu, a federal high court judge, acted in
disregard of an earlier order of the appellate court when he proceeded to
deliver the judgement.
The panel said the lower court had been directed on May 22
to stay proceedings in the matter pending the determination of appeals filed
before the court of appeal.
Reacting to the ruling in a post, Atiku, who is also the
presidential candidate of the ADC for the 2027 elections, commended the
appellate court’s intervention, describing the Independent National Electoral
Commission’s (INEC) role in the appeal-seeking process as “significant”.
“I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the
execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our
great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly
significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay,” he wrote.
Atiku said the development reflected growing public concern
over what he called “judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings”
within the judiciary.
He added that the judiciary is now under scrutiny, aligning
with the position of David Mark, ADC national chairman, who had earlier said
the judiciary was “on trial”.
According to him, any attempt to weaken Nigeria’s democracy
through judicial interference poses a serious threat to the country’s
stability.
“Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy
through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our
democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those
entrusted with dispensing justice,” he said.
Atiku urged the judiciary to uphold constitutional
principles and the rule of law, insisting that it still has an opportunity to
restore public confidence.
The federal high court had, on Monday, ordered INEC to
deregister the ADC, Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party
(APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The court ruled that the parties failed to meet
constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in
elections.
The judge also restrained INEC from recognising the parties,
accepting nominations from them, or allowing them to participate in the 2027
general election.
The judgement followed a suit filed by the National Forum of
Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties no longer met
the legal thresholds required to retain their registration status.
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