A Federal High Court sitting in Owerri has dismissed a suit challenging the legal status of the Action Peoples Party (APP) and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to continue recognising the party and include it in preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The suit was filed by Ngoforo Chinazo against INEC, the Attorney General of the Federation, and APP, seeking to compel the electoral body to deregister the party on the grounds that it had allegedly been removed during INEC’s 2020 deregistration exercise affecting 74 political parties.
Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Binta Fatimah Nyako held that APP remains a duly registered political party and cannot be deregistered, adding that the plaintiff’s claims lacked merit and were not supported by credible evidence.
The court also ordered INEC to retain APP on its register of political parties and ensure its inclusion in the 2027 electoral process.
Justice Nyako further awarded ₦20 million in damages against the plaintiff, ruling that the suit was frivolous and had caused unnecessary disruption to the party.
In arriving at her decision, the court noted that APP had previously obtained a restraining order from a High Court in Abuja during the 2020 deregistration exercise, which prevented INEC from taking any action against its status pending the determination of the matter.
The court held that the subsisting order operated as a valid stay of action, which remained in force until set aside or determined in line with applicable rules of court.
It also rejected the plaintiff’s reliance on a Supreme Court judgment on party deregistration, holding that APP was not a party to that case and therefore could not be bound by its outcome.
INEC maintained during proceedings that APP remained on its register of political parties and insisted that it had acted in compliance with valid court orders and legal processes.
The commission also argued that media reports relied upon by the plaintiff did not constitute proof of deregistration under the law.
APP, in its defence, insisted that it was never lawfully deregistered and tendered court documents supporting its continued recognition as a political party.
The party also denied allegations that its participation in elections was illegal, maintaining that all its activities were conducted within the framework of the law.
With the ruling, the court resolved all issues in favour of APP and dismissed the suit in its entirety, describing it as an abuse of court process and a waste of judicial time.