The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has hailed a landmark judgment of the Court of Appeal that set aside an earlier Federal High Court ruling seeking to remove the party and other political parties from Nigeria’s democratic space, clearing the path for the party to contest the 2027 general elections.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, the party described the appellate court’s decision as a “reassuring affirmation that the judiciary remains the last hope of the common man and the ultimate guardian of constitutional democracy.”
“We congratulate the learned Justices of the Court of Appeal for their courage, fidelity to the Constitution and unwavering commitment to justice,” the statement said. “At a time when many Nigerians are anxious about the future of democratic governance, the Court has demonstrated that justice, when courageously dispensed, remains the strongest defence against arbitrariness.”
The Court of Appeal ruled that the judgment delivered on June 15 by Justice Lifu of the Federal High Court was a nullity, having been given in disobedience to a subsisting order of the appellate court. The court also held that the respondents lacked the locus standi to institute the suit, describing their claims as “speculative and legally unsustainable.”
The appellate court further clarified that Section 225A of the Constitution must be interpreted disjunctively and not conjunctively. It noted that because the Osun and Ekiti election cycles were still active when the suit was filed, the action was premature.
In what the ADC called the most significant aspect of the judgment, the Court found that the trial court ignored the “uncontroverted affidavit evidence” of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, which confirmed that ADC and other affected parties had met all constitutional and statutory requirements.
“Having accepted INEC’s evidence, the lower court had no legal basis to manufacture additional conditions in order to arrive at what the Court of Appeal rightly described as a perverse decision,” the party stated.
The ADC said the judgment, combined with an earlier ruling by Hon. Justice Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, affirming the election of Senator David Mark-led National Working Committee, means there is no pending suit challenging the party’s leadership.
“With this Court of Appeal judgment validating the legal status of ADC… the leading opposition party has finally navigated its ways to the ballot for the 2027 General Elections,” the party declared.
Beyond the party, the ADC said the ruling is “a victory for every Nigerian who believes that democracy must be nurtured through free political competition rather than strangled through speculative litigation.”
“The strength of a democracy lies not in the exclusion of political opponents but in allowing the people to freely determine their leaders through the ballot,” it added.
The party urged “anti-democratic forces” to resist the temptation of using courts and state institutions as instruments of political engineering, warning that such conduct undermines public confidence.
“As the nation moves steadily towards the 2027 general election, political contests must be settled by the votes of Nigerians—not by contrived lawsuits designed to achieve through the courtroom what cannot be won at the ballot box,” the statement concluded.
