Court of Appeal Restores Imo APP Ahead of 2027 Polls

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has voided a Federal High Court order that would have stripped Action Peoples Party (APP) and four other parties of their legal status. Imo State’s chapter of the party did not wait to celebrate. In a statement issued a day after the ruling and signed by state Publicity Secretary Hon. Steve Nnadi, the Imo APP, under state chairman Hon. Ernest Njesi, called the judgment a triumph for democracy and proof the party remains fully cleared to contest the 2027 general elections.

What the party’s statement does not mention is that Nigeria has run this exact legal fight before, on nearly identical facts, and it did not end the same way.

Court of Appeal Voids the Deregistration Order

A three member panel of the Court of Appeal delivered a unanimous judgment on July 28 setting aside a June 15 ruling by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja. That earlier ruling had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five parties: the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

The appellate court did not mince words. It found the Federal High Court suit had been filed by a “non-juristic entity” incapable of suing in its own name, and that the lower court wrongly assumed jurisdiction while ignoring evidence that the affected parties had won elective seats in past elections. Judges also criticised Justice Lifu directly for delivering judgment on June 15 despite an earlier order, issued May 22, directing him to stay proceedings. The panel called that decision “a form of judicial impertinence” and “judicial rascality,” according to Tribune Online, which first reported the ruling. Costs were awarded against the group that brought the case, and the legal status of all five parties was restored.

Why Did a Federal Court Order Deregistration?

A group called the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) had asked the Federal High Court to force INEC’s hand, arguing that parties failing to clear set electoral thresholds after the 2023 general elections had no legal right to remain registered. Justice Lifu agreed, and INEC was ordered to act.

The claim rested on Section 225A of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, as amended, alongside the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s own regulations. Under that framework, a registered party can lose its status if it fails to win at least 25 percent of votes cast in a state during a presidential election, or fails to secure at least one elective seat at the national, state or local government level. NFFL argued the five parties met none of those marks in 2023. The Court of Appeal never ruled on whether that claim was true. It threw the case out on procedure before reaching the merits, which is the detail that separates a courtroom win from a settled question.

Imo APP Calls the Ruling a “Triumph for Democracy”

For Imo State’s party structure, the procedural nature of the win mattered less than the outcome. The chapter’s statement described the judgment as a victory for “constitutional order, the rule of law, and Nigeria’s multi party democratic system,” and praised the appellate judges for what it called courage and impartiality in striking down the lower court’s order.

The judgment has reaffirmed the independence of the judiciary and restored public confidence in the nation’s democratic institutions.

That line came from the party’s statement, issued in Owerri. Beyond the celebration, the leadership used the moment to issue a direct call to its base across the state’s 27 local government areas. The statement asked members to:

• Remain united, focused, disciplined and committed to building a stronger political platform
• Intensify grassroots mobilisation and expand party membership
• Promote voter education ahead of the 2027 cycle
• Strengthen local party structures across all 27 local government areas

The chapter also appealed directly to Imo voters to keep faith with the party, promising accountable, people centred governance, and said it was confident of fielding credible candidates and recording victories in 2027.

Nigeria Fought This Fight Before

The shape of this dispute is not new. INEC deregistered 74 political parties in February 2020 for failing to win any office in the prior general election. The Federal High Court initially sided with INEC. The Court of Appeal then stepped in that August and ruled INEC had wrongly deregistered the ADC and 21 other parties while their case was still pending, temporarily restoring their status, much as it just did for Imo APP.

The story did not end there. Between 2021 and 2022, the Supreme Court affirmed INEC’s constitutional power to deregister parties, with Justice Ejembi Eko voiding the Court of Appeal’s restoration and upholding the removal of 22 of those parties. A win at the second tier of Nigeria’s court system did not survive contact with the top one.

This is the second time in six years that a party’s restoration has rested on an appellate court, not a final one.

Twenty-Two Parties Now Chase a Crowded 2027 Ballot

INEC’s active roster had already grown to 22 registered parties earlier this year, after the commission cleared the Nigeria Democratic Congress and the Democratic Leadership Alliance, the latter following a review of 171 associations seeking registration. All 22 parties had submitted membership registers to INEC under Electoral Act 2026 requirements ahead of the 2027 polls, Punch and Daily Post reported.

Friday’s ruling keeps that number intact rather than trimming it, which is the opposite of what INEC’s deregistration push was meant to achieve. A commission trying to manage a compact, high performing ballot now has five more parties to accommodate than a June court order had promised it. Nothing stops NFFL, or INEC itself, from pressing the matter further up the chain. Nigeria’s Supreme Court has the final say in election law, and the last time it heard this exact fight, INEC came out on top.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the Court of Appeal ruling still be overturned?

Yes. Court of Appeal decisions in Nigeria can be taken to the Supreme Court, and this is not the first time a deregistration case has gone that far. Between 2021 and 2022, the Supreme Court reversed a similar Court of Appeal restoration and upheld INEC’s power to deregister, so an appeal here would not be starting from a blank slate.

Does this ruling guarantee Action Peoples Party a spot on the 2027 ballot?

It restores the party’s legal registration, which is a prerequisite for contesting elections, but it does not settle the underlying question of whether APP actually met the 2023 electoral performance thresholds. The Court of Appeal ruled on procedure, not on that evidence.

Why did the party win on a technicality rather than on its election record?

The appellate court found the original suit was filed by a group, the National Forum of Former Legislators, that it deemed a non-juristic entity without the legal standing to sue. That procedural flaw was enough to void the Federal High Court’s order without the court ever weighing the parties’ 2023 results.

What is the National Forum of Former Legislators?

It is the group that brought the original case asking the Federal High Court to compel INEC to deregister the five parties. The Court of Appeal not only rejected its suit but ordered it to pay costs, on top of finding it lacked the legal capacity to bring the case in the first place.