The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has approached a Federal High Court in Abuja seeking an order to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties over alleged constitutional violations.
According to Nigerian Tribune, the AGF, in the court filing, argued that INEC’s continued recognition of the affected political parties amounted to a breach of its constitutional responsibilities. He warned that unless the court intervenes, the electoral body would “continue to act in breach of its constitutional duty” by retaining parties that have failed to meet minimum legal thresholds.
The suit targeted the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), Accord (A), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
At the centre of the legal dispute is whether INEC is constitutionally obligated to deregister political parties that fail to meet performance benchmarks outlined in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
“The right to associate as a political party is not absolute and must be exercised within constitutional limits,” the AGF stated in the filings, adding that “it is in the interest of justice for the court to grant the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs.”
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, was instituted at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, with INEC and the Attorney General listed as defendants.
According to the plaintiffs, the parties in question failed to meet constitutional requirements, including securing at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or winning elective seats at the national, state, or local government levels.
They argued that despite their poor showing in the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections, the parties remained on INEC’s register, a situation they described as unlawful and detrimental to Nigeria’s electoral integrity.
In a supporting affidavit, the forum’s National Coordinator, Igbokwe Raphael Nnanna, maintained that allowing such parties to remain registered “is unconstitutional, illegal and a violation” of the governing legal framework.
Meanwhile, opposition parties have accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of attempting to stifle dissent, alleging that internal crises within their ranks were being politically engineered, claims the government has consistently denied.
Credit: leadership.ng
