APPEAL COURT JUDGMENT CLEARS ADC FOR 2027 POLLS, SAYS ATIKU’S CAMP

The camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has welcomed Tuesday’s Court of Appeal judgment nullifying a Federal High Court decision that sought the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress and four other political parties.

It described the ruling as a major boost for Nigeria’s democracy and the ADC’s participation in the 2027 general elections.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Atiku Media Office said the appellate court’s decision had removed every legal obstacle that could have affected the ADC’s participation in the next general elections.

According to the statement, the judgment, together with an earlier judgment of the Federal High Court affirming the leadership of the Senator David Mark-led National Executive Committee of the ADC, has resolved all pending legal disputes over the party’s status and leadership.

“With this Court of Appeal judgment validating the legal status of ADC plus the judgment of Hon. Justice Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, affirming the election of the Senator David Mark-led executive of ADC, the leading opposition party has finally navigated its way to the ballot for the 2027 general elections as there’s no suit pending that challenges its leadership again,” the statement said.

The Atiku Media Office also praised the Court of Appeal for overturning the lower court’s decision.

“We warmly welcome the landmark judgment of the Court of Appeal, which set aside the erroneous judgment of the Federal High Court that sought to remove the African Democratic Congress (and other political parties) from Nigeria’s democratic space,” it said.

It added, “We congratulate the learned Justices of the Court of Appeal for their courage, fidelity to the Constitution and unwavering commitment to justice. Their judgment is a reassuring affirmation that the judiciary remains the last hope of the common man and the ultimate guardian of constitutional democracy.”

According to the statement, the Court of Appeal held that the judgment of the Federal High Court was a nullity because it was delivered despite a subsisting order of the appellate court.

It also said the appellate court ruled that the respondents lacked the legal standing to institute the suit and that their claims were speculative and legally unsustainable.

The statement further said the court clarified the interpretation of Section 225A of the Constitution, holding that the provision should be read disjunctively rather than conjunctively. It added that the court ruled the suit was premature because the Osun and Ekiti election cycles were still ongoing when it was filed.

The Atiku Media Office also said the appellate court faulted the trial court for ignoring affidavit evidence filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, which confirmed that the ADC and the other affected political parties had complied with 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 statement said.

Describing the verdict as extending beyond the fortunes of the ADC, the Atiku Media Office argued that the ruling reinforced democratic principles by protecting political pluralism.

“This judgment is far more than a legal victory for the ADC. It is a victory for every Nigerian who believes that democracy must be nurtured through free political competition rather than strangled through speculative litigation,” it said.

The statement also cautioned against what it described as attempts to use the judiciary and other state institutions to undermine political opponents ahead of the 2027 elections.

“We urge anti-democratic forces to resist the dangerous temptation of using the courts and other institutions of the state as instruments of political engineering. The judiciary must never be transformed into a battlefield for eliminating political competitors or shrinking the democratic space,” it said.

It added that political contests should be decided by the electorate rather than litigation.

The Court of Appeal’s judgment comes amid ongoing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the ADC emerging as a key opposition platform following the alignment of prominent politicians, including Atiku Abubakar and former Senate President David Mark.