The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ordered a suspension of the execution of a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, which had deregistered the African Democratic Party (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The decision followed appeals filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the affected political parties, who argued that the judgment was delivered despite an earlier subsisting order of the Court of Appeal dated May 22, which was said to have halted further proceedings in the matter.
Justice Lifu had ruled that the parties be deregistered for allegedly failing to meet the conditions required to retain their registration.
However, in a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice A. B. Mohammed ordered that the judgment remain suspended pending the determination of the appeal.
The appellate court criticised the conduct of the trial court, describing the situation as a serious breach of judicial procedure and hierarchy.
The panel held that Justice Lifu proceeded in disregard of its earlier order and the pending appeal, describing his action as improper and contrary to established judicial protocol.
It ruled that the conduct of the lower court amounted to a violation of the hierarchy of courts and the authority of the appellate court.
The court further stressed that its supervisory powers over lower courts must be upheld to preserve judicial order and ensure compliance with binding directives.
Accordingly, the Court of Appeal granted a stay of execution, holding that the enforcement of the judgment is hereby suspended pending the outcome of the appeal.