The Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja has vacated its earlier judgment which directed INEC to register the NDC as a political party.
Justice Isah Dashen, the presiding judge, held that the earlier judgment was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.
The ruling follows an application filed by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), where it argued that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.
According to the judge, all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.
Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with INEC, the PMP, and the NDC as parties to the case.
Justice Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 2025 judgment, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Counsel to the applicant, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.
According to Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgment, which directed the registration of NDC as a political party.
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