By Peace Udugba
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and lead counsel to the Accord Party, Musibau Adetunmbi, has described as unprecedented what he termed a clash of judicial orders between a higher court and a lower court in the ongoing legal dispute over the alleged deregistration of political parties.
Adetunmbi made the remark on Tuesday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, while reacting to a Federal High Court judgment in Abuja that has sparked fresh legal arguments and an ongoing appeal process.
“Throughout my over 25-year career, I’ve never seen such a situation where a higher court gives an order and a lower court disobeys it,” he said, expressing concern over what he described as an unusual procedural development in the case.
Recall that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) from the register of political parties, citing their failure to secure at least 25 per cent of votes in previous elections.
The court also barred the affected parties from participating in future elections, including the 2027 general elections.
The judgment followed a suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, which argued that the parties failed to meet the constitutional threshold required to remain registered.
The senior lawyer noted that the matter remains active before the Court of Appeal and cautioned against extensive public commentary while judicial proceedings are ongoing.
“I would like to remind you and all our listeners that this matter is still before the Court of Appeal. It is coming up at 2 p.m. today. So, there is a limit to what we can discuss,” he said.
Adetunmbi clarified that the ruling at the centre of the controversy did not, in his view, impose restrictions on the political activities of the affected parties but rather directed INEC to commence steps toward their deregistration.
“His Lordship did not order those parties to stop campaigning. His Lordship ordered INEC to commence the deregistration process and equally directed INEC not to receive any communication from them, while making certain declarations that they did not meet registration requirements,” he explained.
He further argued that an earlier order from the Court of Appeal had instructed that judgment in the matter should not be delivered until the appeal had been concluded.
“We have an express order before His Lordship. The Court of Appeal had earlier ordered that His Lordship should not deliver that judgment,” he said.
Adetunmbi added that he had never witnessed such a situation in more than two decades of legal practice, where procedural directives from different courts appeared to be in conflict.
Despite the controversy, he maintained that the Accord Party remains committed to pursuing its case through legal channels.
“On the part of Accord, we are already at the Court of Appeal. We will see this matter through to the end within the ambit of the law,” he said.
He declined to speculate on the motivations behind the court’s decision, stressing that only the judiciary could clarify the reasoning behind the ruling.
Meanwhile, the judgment could pose a significant challenge to the political future of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke. Adeleke, who recently defected to the Accord Party to anchor his campaign for the August 15, 2026 governorship election, may face obstacles to his re-election bid if the ruling is upheld.
With the deadline for candidate nominations already closed under existing electoral guidelines, the governor may be unable to contest under another political platform should the deregistration order remain in force.
