Breaking: Court Issues Final Judgment on Deregistration of ADC Ahead of 2027 Elections

• The Court of Appeal set aside a Federal High Court judgment that had threatened to remove the ADC and other parties from Nigeria's political space
• Atiku Media Office welcomed the ruling, saying ADC now faces no pending suit challenging its leadership ahead of the 2027 elections
• The appellate court found that the June 15 judgment by Justice Lifu was a nullity and that the respondents lacked the legal standing to bring the case

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The Court of Appeal has overturned a Federal High Court judgment that had sought to strip the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and several other political parties of their legal standing, clearing a major obstacle for the opposition party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Atiku Media Office, in a statement signed in Abuja on July 28, 2026, welcomed the ruling and said the ADC had now "finally navigated its ways to the ballot for the 2027 General Elections," with no outstanding suit challenging its leadership.

What the court of appeal decided

A statement cited by Legit.ng on Tuesday, July 28, noted that the appellate court held that the judgment delivered on June 15 by Justice Lifu was a nullity, having been issued in defiance of a subsisting Court of Appeal order. The court also ruled that the respondents lacked the locus standi to bring the suit, describing their claims as speculative and legally unsustainable.

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The court further held that Section 225A of the Constitution must be read disjunctively rather than conjunctively. Because the Osun and Ekiti election cycles were still active when the suit was filed, the action was considered premature.

A separate but significant element of the ruling concerned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The appellate court found that the trial court had accepted INEC's uncontroverted affidavit evidence confirming that the ADC and other affected parties had met all constitutional and statutory requirements, yet the lower court then invented additional conditions to reach what the Court of Appeal described as a "perverse decision."

ADC's path to 2027

The ruling came alongside an earlier judgment by Justice Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, which affirmed the election of Senator David Mark's-led executive committee of the ADC.

Together, the two decisions leave the party with no active legal challenges to its leadership structure.

The Atiku Media Office said the outcome was "far more than a legal victory for the ADC," framing it as a broader affirmation of democratic competition. The statement called on what it described as "anti-democratic forces" to stop using the courts as tools for eliminating political rivals, warning that such conduct erodes public confidence in Nigeria's institutions.

"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 read.

The office also praised the Court of Appeal justices for what it called a "courageous, impartial and constitutionally grounded judgment," saying the decision had reinforced public trust in the rule of law ahead of the 2027 electoral cycle.

El-Rufai ally dumps ADC

Previously, Legit.ng reported that a high-profile governorship aspirant in Kaduna State resigned from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), dealing the opposition party a fresh blow only days after it declared an end to months of internal conflict.

Muhammad Bello, popularly known as Mainan Zazzau, submitted his resignation letter on July 21, addressing it to the chairman of his party in Sabon Gari Ward. The ward leadership received the letter, though Bello offered no reason for leaving.