The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja seeking a stay of execution of the Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and four other political parties.
INEC also backed the notice of appeal filed by the affected political parties.
Addressing a three member panel of the appellate court on Tuesday, the Commission said it was shocked by the decision of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to deliver the judgment despite an existing court order restraining him from doing so.
The electoral body, through its legal team led by Haliru Mohammed, stated that it was not notified of the judgment delivery and only became aware of the court’s decision through media reports.
“My Lords, we are aware of an order that this court made on May 22, which stopped the delivery of the judgment of the lower court, which was initially reserved for delivery on June 5.
“We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgment. We only saw it as breaking news in the media.
“We therefore do not oppose the application of the appellant to stay the execution of the judgment,” the Commission said.
The latest move by INEC signals a major legal challenge to the enforcement of the lower court ruling, as the appellate court is now expected to determine whether the deregistration order should remain in force pending the final determination of the appeal.
