Supreme Court upholds INEC’S de-registration of 22 political parties

The Supreme Court of Nigeria yesterday in Abuja upheld the de-registration of 22 political parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The parties were among the 74 scrapped in 2020 by INEC following their dismal performances in the previous elections.

Delivering judgment in an appeal instituted by INEC against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja division, which had nullified the de-registration, Justice Ejembi Eko voided and set aside the judgment.

Justice Eko held that the Court Appeal on its own (suo motu) raised the issue of lack of fair hearing in favour of the 22 scrapped parties and arrived at a conclusion without hearing from other parties in the matter.

“This appeal by INEC is meritorious and is hereby allowed. The decision of the court below is set aside,” Eko said.

The Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal took out the issue of fair hearing out of the contemplations of the notice of appeal filed by the political parties but refused to do the needful to be fair to others in the matter.

Specifically, the court said the Court of Appeal erred in law by raising the issue of fair hearing in favour of the political parties suo motu and declined to give opportunity to other respondents to address it on the matter in order to arrive at a just conclusion.

Justice Eko stated that proceeding to give judgment in such a situation as done by the Court of Appeal ran foul of the pillar of the same fair hearing and as such, its findings and conclusion could not stand.

“It is not the basic function of any court to raise a fundamental issue suo motu and come to the conclusion without being addressed by parties in the matter. Such action runs foul of the pillar of the fair hearing itself,” Justice Eko held.

INEC had on February 6, 2020 de-registered 74 political parties for failing to win any political office in the last general election.

The Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) and 21 other parties had sued the Commission at the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge their deregistration.

In a judgment delivered on June 11, 2020, the Federal High Court dismissed the suit on the grounds that INEC was empowered to de-register parties that failed to win elections.

The court held that Section 225(a), (b) and (c) of the Constitution could be construed disjointedly to imply that INEC possesses the power to deregister parties.

On appeal to the Court of Appeal, Abuja, the appellate court, in its judgment in August 2020, said although INEC could de-register parties, it was wrong to have deregistered ACD and 21 other parties while their case was pending in court.

It was the decision of the Court of Appeal that INEC appealed at the Supreme Court in an appeal marked SC/485/2020.