By Emmanuel Onyedika
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday adjourned hearing in a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Justice Mohammed Umar adjourned the matter until July 7 after counsel to the plaintiff, B.J. Akomolafe, requested time to respond to processes served on him earlier in the day by NDC’s lawyer, Moses Achile. While both lawyers were present in court, INEC, the first defendant, was not represented. The judge ordered that a hearing notice be issued and served on the electoral umpire.
The case was filed by Mr. Ahidjo Karlahi, Protem Director of Organisation of the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), who sued INEC and NDC as first and second defendants. In the originating summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1115/2026, Karlahi argued that NDC failed to meet constitutional and statutory requirements under Sections 221–225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Sections 75 and 79 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
He claimed that NDC was not among the prequalified associations during the 2025 political parties’ registration exercise, did not pay the mandatory ₦2 million administrative fee, and failed to access INEC’s portal to complete Form EC15A, the only valid means of applying for registration. Karlahi urged the court to declare NDC’s registration unconstitutional, null and void, and to restrain INEC from continuing to recognize the party.
Karlahi emphasized that his suit was not politically motivated but aimed at safeguarding electoral integrity. “This suit is instituted solely by me as a citizen to advance constitutionalism, the rule of law and electoral integrity in our democracy. It is not directed against any individual or group of persons,” he said, adding that compromised registration processes threaten Nigeria’s democratic order.
It would be recalled that a Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi, recently set aside its earlier judgment directing INEC to register NDC as a political party. NDC has vowed to appeal that ruling.