The Court of Appeal has delivered a landmark judgment, dismissing a legal challenge aimed at the deregistration of the Action Peoples Party (APP) and solidifying the party’s legal standing in Nigeria’s political landscape. In a decisive ruling, the appellate court declared the APP as “validly registered and validly existing,” effectively putting an end to a series of legal battles that sought to strip the party of its status.
The court further issued a mandatory order to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure the party’s full participation in all future elections across the country, clearing the way for the APP to field candidates without the shadow of legal uncertainty.
Legal experts suggest that this recent judgment serves as a definitive precedent, effectively rendering any other pending cases seeking the deregistration of the APP null and void.
This ruling comes amid a broader legal assault on several opposition parties. The Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has backed a separate suit before a Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to compel INEC to deregister five political parties
Reacting to the Court of Appeal victory, Charles Okafor of the GDF Media Office expressed gratitude, framing the court’s decision as a triumph for democracy and justice.
Okafor stated. “APP people are always ahead of their illiterate enemies”. The ruling is seen as a significant win for the party’s leadership and supporters, who have long maintained that the efforts to deregister the party were politically motivated.
Another Chieftain of the party who spoke to reporters after the judgment, Chief Ben Nwakolam, said that he knew there was no validity in the politically motivated cases against the APP which he said was reason why some cheap government hireling in Owerri were holding court on the pages of newspapers.
He said: ” In Imo state, the only people kicking against the registration of APP are the people who are afraid of the growing popularity of the party. Lackeys of the Imo state government who the courts had dismissed as “busybodies” and those who are scared of testing their popularity without manipulation and rigging.
“So as for people like Ngoforo, Opurozor and Onwuasoanya who have dedicated themselves to shame and mischief, they are far too inconsequential in the larger scheme of things and like the courts said, they are mere “busybodies” and misused puppets”
