Court Adjourns APP Deregistration Case to April 16, 2024

The Federal High Court sitting in Owerri has adjourned the case concerning the deregistration of the Allied Peoples Party (APP) to April 16, 2024. The adjournment occurred because the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not send legal representation to the court.

The case, filed under suit number FHC/CS/03/2026 by Franklin Ngoforo, who coordinates the Civic Action Democracy (CAC), seeks to disqualify the APP from participating in electoral exercises following its deregistration by INEC on February 6, 2020. The presiding judge noted the absence of INEC's legal representative and granted the APP's legal team roughly seven weeks to prepare their defense.

Chinyer Obi, a constitutional lawyer, indicated that the absence of a defense typically signals a concession to the plaintiff's arguments. The case is significant in Nigeria's electoral integrity battle, as civil society organizations press for accountability from INEC.

A Supreme Court judgment in March 2022 affirmed the deregistration of the APP.