March 25, (THEWILL) – The Supreme Court on Friday dashed the hopes of the 22 political parties deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for their failures to win any election after the 2019 general election.
INEC had on February 6, 2020, de-registered 74 political parties for failing to win any political office in the last general election.
The Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACP) and 21 other parties had challenged their deregistration by INEC in a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
In a judgement on June 11, 2020, the Federal High Court 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 disjointedly to imply that INEC possesses the power to deregister parties.
But in an application to the Court of Appeal, Abuja, the appellate court, in its judgement in August 2020, said although INEC could de-register parties, it was wrong to have deregistered ACP and 21 other parties while their case was pending in court.
However, INEC had in an appeal marked: SC/485/2020, filed at the Supreme Court, challenged the ruling of the Appeal Court.
Delivering judgement on the appeal on Friday, Justice Ejembi Eko, voided and set aside a judgement of the Court of Appeal, Abuja division which had nullified the de-registration.
Justice Eko held that the Court Appeal on its own (suo motu) raised the issue of lack of fair hearing in favour of the 22 scrapped parties and arrived at a conclusion without hearing from other parties in the matter.
“This appeal by INEC is meritorious and is hereby allowed. The decision of the court below is set aside”, Justice Eko ruled.
The apex court held 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 an opportunity to other respondents to address it on the matter in order to arrive at a just conclusion.
Justice Eko said that proceeding to give judgement 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.
“It is not the basic function 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”, Justice Eko held.
