A civil society group, Civic Action for Democracy CAD, has approached the Federal High Court sitting in Owerri, seeking the immediate removal of the Action Peoples Party APP from the register of political parties maintained by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.
The group filed the suit with number FHC OW CS 03 2026.
Speaking to journalists after filing the case, the Executive Director of the group, Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, said the legal action became necessary following findings that the APP remains in the INEC database despite having been deregistered several years ago.
He argued that allowing the APP to participate in any electoral process would amount to an electoral misnomer.
According to him, the action is aimed at defending democracy, protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system, and upholding the sanctity of the Constitution.
“We are challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission’s illegal retention of the deregistered Action Peoples Party in its database of registered political parties. This is not merely a legal action; it is a battle for the soul of Nigerian democracy, and we have taken the fight to the only arena where truth, law and justice can prevail,” he said.
Ngoforo disclosed that the group is seeking 21 separate reliefs from the court, including declarations that the APP was lawfully deregistered on February 6, 2020, and that INEC’s claim of receiving a restraining court order to prevent the deregistration is false and constitutes fraud.
The group is also asking for a perpetual injunction restraining INEC from recognising the APP and from allowing it to participate in any electoral activity.
Ngoforo stressed that the move is not politically motivated but strictly intended to safeguard constitutional governance and the rule of law.
“Civic Action for Democracy is a non partisan civil society organisation that has no affiliation with any political party and no interest in who wins or loses elections, provided those elections are conducted with integrity and in accordance with the Constitution,” he added.
He further said the action is being taken on behalf of all lovers of democracy, warning that any individual or political party opposing it is effectively declaring support for electoral fraud and institutional corruption.
“We have thrown down the gauntlet and drawn a line in the sand. We say to INEC, to the APP, and to those who believe they can subvert our Constitution with impunity: not on our watch, not in our Nigeria, and not without a fight. The path will not be easy, the opposition will be fierce, but we go forward with confidence because we have truth, law and justice on our side,” he asserted.
Ngoforo hinted that those behind the continued retention of the APP in the INEC register intend to exploit a legal loophole to nullify the 2027 general elections, making it imperative to halt the development now.
He pointed out that the party was deregistered pursuant to Sections 225 and 225A of the Constitution and Section 94 of the Electoral Act, and that the Supreme Court in March 2022 affirmed its deregistration.
The group said it was puzzled by INEC’s reluctance to comply with the court’s decision and called on all lovers of democracy to rise in defence of the electoral system.
