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 delivered a split decision on reversing the deregistration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party. Out of the judges, Justice Mohammed Danjuma and M. L. Hassan formed the majority, while Justice Okon Abang dissented. The majority judgment held that the Peace Movement Party (PMP) was not a registered political party, thus could not have been a necessary party in the suit filed by the NDC against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
It was further noted that the PMP operated as an "errand spoiler" and a "meddlesome interloper" for not being a necessary party. The minority judgment, however, disagreed with the majority, claiming the PMP had successfully established its legal interest in the case and was not a necessary party, but was instead an errand spoiler.
The dissenting judge further argued that the appeal was incompetent, stating that the trial court's jurisdiction was wrongly assumed. He awarded N10 million against the appellant and dismissed the appeal for being incompetent.
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