A’ Court in Split Decision Reverses Deregistration of NDC
Alex Enumah in Abuja The Court of Appeal in Abuja, in a split decision of 2-to-one has reversed the judgment of a Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, which
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has split its decision, reversing the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, which had directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). The majority judgment, delivered by Justice Mohammed Danjuma and M. L. Hassan, held that the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which claimed ownership of the NDC's logo, was not a registered political party and thus could not have been a necessary party in the suit filed by the NDC against INEC.
The appellate court stated that the PMP operated as an "errand spoiler" and a "meddlesome interloper," and that the trial court had wrongly declared the PMP as a party affected by an earlier court judgment. However, Justice Okon Abang dissented, arguing that the appeal was "dead on arrival" because the trial court did not decide that the PMP was not a registered political party under the Electoral Act, and that the trial court lacked jurisdiction from the start.
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