Law must be based on facts, evidence – Query for judge in ADC, Accord, others’ de-registration saga

June 21, 2026

By Nnamdi Ojiego

By the time the Court of Appeal rose in Abuja on Tuesday, what had looked barely 24 hours earlier like the political funeral of five opposition parties had suddenly become a resurrection.

The appellate court halted the execution of a Federal High Court judgment that had directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

In unusually stern language, the appellate court accused the trial judge of disregarding an earlier order restraining him from proceeding with the matter, describing his conduct as “judicial impertinence” and “judicial rascality.”