A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties for failing to meet the legal requirements needed to remain registered political parties in Nigeria.
Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Peter Lifu directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove the affected parties from its register and bar them from participating in future elections, including the 2027 general elections.
The affected parties are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The court held that the parties failed to meet the constitutional requirement of securing at least 25 per cent of votes in the relevant elections, as required under electoral laws to maintain their status.
Justice Lifu also dismissed all preliminary objections raised by the political parties before issuing the order.
The case was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, who argued that the parties did not meet the legal threshold for continued registration.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, the group joined the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and INEC as defendants.
The plaintiffs argued that political parties must demonstrate a minimum level of electoral support to remain active, insisting that none of the affected parties met the required standard.
They therefore asked the court to order INEC to deregister the parties, a request the court granted after reviewing the arguments presented.
