…nullifies order to deregister ADC, 4 others
Nigeria’s political opposition has been granted a major boost ahead of the 2027 elections after a Court of Appeal ruling in Abuja overturned a Federal High Court’s order that sought to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other parties.
On Tuesday, July 28, 2026, a three-member appellate panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed unanimously cleared the ADC, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) to participate in the upcoming general elections.
The appellate court deemed the original suit incompetent, describing it as an act of “judicial impertinence.” The justices noted that the lower court lacked jurisdiction and deliberately ignored a standing stay of proceedings.
Prominent opposition leaders quickly celebrated the judgment as a victory for the rule of law. The ruling arrives at a critical time, as several parties have been fighting last-minute challenges to their legal status just as the registration window for the 2027 elections closes. For the opposition, each favourable court decision ensures the upcoming polls will be a genuine multi-party contest rather than a slide into one-party dominance.
Terver Shirsha Atsar, an ADC chieftain and the party’s 2027 House of Representatives candidate for the Kwande/Ushongo Benue Federal Constituency, argued that the initial attempt to deregister the party lacked any legal foundation. He pointed out that the ADC is an established platform that has successfully won seats in both State Assemblies and the House of Representatives.
Atsar criticised the lower court for ignoring clear evidence and suggested that judges whose rulings are overturned on appeal should face sanctions to discourage reckless legal decisions.
“I sometimes wish our jurisprudence had a provision requiring judges whose judgments are overturned on appeal to face some form of accountability or sanction. Such a provision, if carefully designed, might help discourage frivolous, reckless, or poorly founded judgments, particularly at the Federal High Court level,” he said.
“I am not particularly excited by the appellate court’s decision because I expected it. The judgment merely corrected an obvious wrong and restored the position that should have prevailed in the first place.
“The ADC remains a strong and credible platform within the opposition, despite the numerous distractions and challenges thrown its way. We remain focused, resolute, and fully prepared to go into the elections with confidence. We are poised to emerge victorious,” he added.
Osa Director, the national publicity secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), echoed similar sentiments, framing the initial deregistration attempt as a deliberate tactic by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to intimidate rivals.
Director accused the ruling party of trying to derail the opposition’s momentum with frivolous lawsuits, pointing to similar legal harassment directed at the NDC over logo disputes. Urging the judiciary to resist being weaponised, he stressed that Nigeria must never slide into a one-party state.
“The ruling APC government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is just trying to intimidate all the opposition parties. At the end of the day, slow down opposition momentum ahead of the 2027 general election.
“That is what they are also doing to NDC with their fake logos and the rest. So it’s not going to work. Eventually, the judgement for ADC is positive for democracy. It deepens the rule of law. For us in NDC, we always say that no party deserves to be deregistered and Nigeria can never be a one-party state. So we are happy with the judgement. We urge the judiciary not to allow itself to be used as a tool to destroy our democracy. So the Appeal Court judgement is a welcome development, especially to the opposition parties,” Director said in an exclusive interview with BusinessDay.
Political analysts agree that the ruling significantly alters the landscape for the upcoming 2027 general elections. By eliminating the threat of deregistration under Section 225A of the Constitution, the court has preserved the alternative platforms essential for opposition coalition-building.
For the broader opposition, the ruling serves as a crucial safeguard for the country’s democracy against executive and judicial overreach.
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