ADC Deregistration Suit: Court Delays Judgment as Judge Fails to Sit

|By Adejumo Adekunle – The ADC deregistration suit suffered a fresh delay on Friday after Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja failed to appear for the scheduled judgment.

The ADC deregistration suit seeks the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party (APP) and Zenith Labour Party over alleged constitutional violations.

Lawyers and litigants waited for about two hours before a court official announced that Justice Lifu was away from Abuja and would not deliver the judgment. The official said the court would communicate a new date to all parties.

The case was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and several political parties.

Earlier, Justice Lifu rejected applications seeking a stay of proceedings and requests by some politicians to join the case. He ruled that suspending proceedings could create hardship, especially as political parties prepare for future elections.

During final arguments, the plaintiff urged the court to order the deregistration of the affected parties, arguing that they failed to meet constitutional requirements relating to electoral performance.

However, lawyers representing the political parties asked the court to dismiss the suit, insisting that pending appeals should be resolved first.

INEC also informed the court that it had filed a counter-affidavit responding to the claims.

The court is yet to announce a new date for judgment in the ADC deregistration suit.