2027: Civic Group Sues INEC Over Alleged Illegal Retention of Deregistered Party in Nigeria
By Anselem Anokwute
A non governmental organization and a political pressure group under the aegis of Civic Action for Democracy (CAD) on Tuesday announced the filing of a suit at the Federal High Court, Owerri, Imo State, challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the continued listing and welcoming of the Action Peoples Party (APP) as a registered political party after it’s originally deregistered in February 6, 2020.
The suit, numbered FHC/OW/CS/03/2026, seeks judicial orders compelling INEC to remove APP from its register, on the grounds that the party was lawfully deregistered on February 6, 2020 asking for the Court to look at it with fairness and justice.
Addressing journalists, shortly after the Filling of the Suit, Civic Action for Democracy,(CAD), Executive Director, Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, said the deregistration of APP was carried out in line with constitutional and statutory provisions and was subsequently affirmed by a Supreme Court judgment in March 2022, and wonder why the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC will continue to recognize the party against the Nigeria interest.
The group alleged that INEC’s claim of a subsisting court order restraining the deregistration is false, insisting that no such order exists and that none has been produced despite repeated demands.
According to Ngoforo, the suit seeks multiple reliefs, including declarations that APP has no legal status, injunctions restraining INEC from recognizing the party or allowing it to participate in elections, and an order of mandamus compelling INEC to publish APP’s removal from its register.
The organization also asked the court to direct INEC to identify officials allegedly involved in the matter and to refer the case to law enforcement agencies for investigation.
Further, CAD warned that allowing a deregistered party to participate in the build-up to the 2027 general elections could undermine the credibility of the electoral process and trigger a constitutional crisis. It urged the judiciary to intervene promptly and called on INEC to comply with constitutional requirements to safeguard electoral integrity.
