The Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favour of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the deregistration 22 political parties.
The 22 parties were among the 74 deregistered in 2020 by INEC following their abysmal performances in the previous elections.
Delivering judgment in an appeal instituted by INEC against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ejembi Eko, who led other Justices of the apex Court, voided a judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division which had nullified the de-registration by INEC.
Justice Eko while setting aside the ruling of the Court of Appeal said that the appellate Court on its own (suo motu) raised the issue of lack of fair hearing in favour of the 22 scrapped parties yet, arrived at a conclusion without hearing from other parties in the matter.
The Supreme Court further ruled; “This appeal by INEC is meritorious and is hereby allowed. The decision of the court below is set aside”.
It also ruled that the Court of Appeal took out the issue of fair hearing out of the contemplations of the notice of appeal filed by the political parties but refused to do the needful in order to be fair to others in the matter.
The Supreme Court particularly ruled that the Court of Appeal erred in law by raising the issue of fair hearing in favour of the political parties suo motu and declined to give opportunity to other respondents to address it on the matter in order to arrive at a just conclusion.
Justice Eko stressed that proceeding to give judgment in such a situation as done by the Court of Appeal ran foul of the pillar of the same fair hearing and as such its findings and conclusion cannot stand.
The ruling further states; “It is not the basic functions of any court to raise a fundamental issue suo motu and come to the conclusion without being addressed by parties in the matter.
“Such action runs foul of the pillar of the fair hearing itself,” he held.
INEC had on February 6, 2020 de-registered 74 political parties for failing to win any political office in the last general election for which the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) and 21 other political parties challenged their deregistration at a Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja.
The Federal High Court in a judgment on June 11, 2020, dismissed the suit on the grounds that INEC was empowered to de-register parties that failed to win elections.
The court held that Section 225(a), (b) and (c) of the Constitution could be construed disjointively to imply that INEC possesses the power to deregister parties.
However, on appeal to the Court of Appeal, Abuja, the appellate court, in its judgment in August 2020 ruled that although INEC could de-register parties, it was wrong to have deregistered ACD and 21 other parties while their case was pending in court.
But, not satisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal, INEC went to the Supreme Court in appeal marked: SC/485/2020.
