A group under the aegis of Civic Action for Democracy, CAD, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court sitting in Owerri, demanding the immediate removal of the Action Peoples Party (APP) from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) register.
Addressing journalists after filing the case with suit number FHC/OW/CS/03/2026, the Executive Director of the group, Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, said the legal action became necessary following findings that revealed that the APP is still in the INEC database despite being deregistered a long time ago.
He maintained that it would be an electoral misnomer if the APP is allowed to participate in any electoral exercise.
According to him, the group is taking the court action in defence of democracy and to protect the integrity of the nation’s electoral system, as well as the sanctity of the Constitution.
“We are challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission’s illegal retention of the deregistered Action Peoples Party in its database of registered political parties. This is not merely a legal action; it is a battle for the soul of Nigerian democracy, and we have taken the fight to the only arena where truth, law and justice can prevail,” he said.
Mazi Ngoforo further stated that the group is seeking 21 distinct reliefs from the court, including declarations that the APP was lawfully deregistered on February 6, 2020, and that the claim by INEC of receiving a restraining court order to prevent the action is false and constitutes fraud.
The group is also demanding a perpetual injunction restraining the nation’s electoral umpire from recognising the APP and stopping it from participating in any electoral activity.
The group’s Executive Director emphatically said the move is not politically motivated but aimed strictly at protecting constitutional governance and the rule of law.
“Civic Action for Democracy is a non-partisan civil society organisation that has no affiliation with any political party and no interest in who wins or loses elections, provided those elections are conducted with integrity and in accordance with the Constitution,” Ngoforo added.
He said the fight is for all lovers of democracy and that any individual or political party opposing the action is declaring support for electoral fraud and institutional corruption.
“We have thrown down the gauntlet and drawn a line in the sand. We say to INEC, to the APP, and to those who believe they can subvert our Constitution with impunity: not on our watch, not in our Nigeria, and not without a fight. The path will not be easy, the opposition will be fierce, but we go forward with confidence because we have truth, law and justice on our side,” he asserted.
Ngoforo hinted that the intention of those behind the retention of the APP in the INEC register is to exploit a legal loophole to nullify the 2027 general elections, hence the need to stop it now.
He pointed out that the party, pursuant to Sections 225 and 225A of the Constitution and Section 94 of the Electoral Act, was deregistered, and that the Supreme Court in March 2022 affirmed its deregistration.
The group noted that it wondered why INEC has been reluctant to obey the court order and called on lovers of democracy to rise in its protection.
