Labour Party Welcomes Court Ruling on Political Parties

The Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party on Tuesday praised the Court of Appeal for stopping the execution of a Federal High Court ruling that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister five political parties. They called the appellate court’s decision a win for democracy and the rule of law.

The appellate court put a hold on a controversial ruling made by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja. This ruling had directed the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Accord Party, and Zenith Labour Party.

Speaking to reporters in Abuja, the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, criticized Justice Lifu’s ruling. He accused the judge of ignoring established legal rules and the proper court hierarchy when making his decision.

Ifoh raised concerns about what he called the decline of standards in parts of the judiciary. He claimed that Justice Lifu had previously made decisions that harmed the Labour Party.

He said, "The Appeal Court has done the right thing. It is not proper for Justice Lifu to rush into making that judgment, especially on the eve of an Appeal Court sitting. He ought to know that the appellate court has powers over the lower court. Again, he does not have the power, according to the hierarchy of the judiciary, to go into that judgment."

"That is exactly what we are pointing out here. The National Judicial Council should look into this matter. It goes beyond pronouncing judgment. There has to be a reason why he jumped the gun. Funny enough, he was asked that very day whether he knew that this matter was before the Appeal Court, and he said he knew. So what prompted him to go into that judgment?"

As a party, Ifoh said they believe the stay of execution by the Appeal Court was justified. He added that the court should have time to consider the case. He asked, "Why allow political parties to sell forms, make presentations, and bring people to contest before giving such a judgment? What do you want those people to do?"

Ifoh pointed out that the effects of the ruling go beyond just the affected parties. He noted that candidates had already been chosen through normal electoral processes, and preparations for future elections are in progress.

He continued, saying the Labour Party is one of the biggest victims of what he called judicial inconsistencies. He insisted that past rulings by Justice Lifu had negatively impacted the party’s internal matters.

He stated, "It must be noted that apart from the deregistration of ADC and some other political parties, we in the Labour Party are the worst hit by the judgment of Justice Peter Lifu."

Ifoh added, "We want to say that, as of now, the judgment of the Federal High Court negates and it is against all known principles of law. In any event, our only regret, however, is that this same judgment delivered by Justice Lifu was also affirmed by the Court of Appeal."

"We, however, believe that the Supreme Court will do justice to the matter and do the right thing, being the final court of redress. It is on this basis that I want to call on the courageous judges of the Supreme Court to rise to the occasion and steer our ship of judiciary out of where it is currently headed."

The issue started from a Federal High Court ruling that instructed INEC to deregister five political parties due to problems with constitutional and electoral compliance. But the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Tuesday paused the implementation of that judgment and strongly criticized the lower court’s actions.

In a unanimous decision from a three-member panel led by Justice A.B. Mohammed, the appellate court said the lower court’s actions were a serious breach of judicial hierarchy. They held that Justice Lifu moved ahead with the case despite an earlier order stopping him.

The appellate court pointed out that the trial judge ignored a May 22 order that told him to pause proceedings while an appeal on his authority was decided.

The panel described this conduct as one of the worst forms of judicial misconduct. They emphasized that appellate courts have a duty to maintain discipline in the judicial system and protect the hierarchy of courts.

During the proceedings, INEC's lawyer, Haliru Mohammed, told the appellate court that they were surprised by Justice Lifu’s decision to hand down the judgment despite the existing restraining order.

He explained that INEC only learned about the ruling through media reports and expected the trial court to follow the Court of Appeal's directive that came before the judgment date.

This ruling has temporarily kept the legal status of the affected political parties intact while the substantive appeals are decided. It is likely to have significant effects on Nigeria’s political scene as future elections approach.