Nigerian court deregisters five parties including the ADC: cleaning up politics, or crushing the opposition?
A Nigerian court ordered the deregistration of five political parties — including the ADC, which opposition figures have been rallying around — along with Accord and others, on grounds tied to registration requirements. The ruling lands as opposition forces try to coalesce ahead of the 2027 election. Allies of opposition leader Atiku Abubakar denounced the decision as 'judicial rascality' aimed at shrinking the political space, while the ruling rests on the electoral commission's legal criteria for party status.
The summary above is a neutral framing. Below, each side reports the same story in its own words — judge for yourself.
The court ordered the deregistration of the ADC, Accord and three other parties on grounds tied to Nigeria's legal requirements for maintaining party registration — the kind of criteria (on structures, performance and presence) that the electoral commission, INEC, uses to determine which parties qualify to remain on the register. Backers frame it as enforcing the law and tidying a crowded party system.
Allies of former vice-president Atiku Abubakar blasted the ruling as 'judicial rascality,' arguing it is a politically driven move to dismantle the ADC — a vehicle the opposition has been building toward a united 2027 challenge — and to shrink Nigeria's democratic space. They vowed to appeal, casting the timing and target as evidence the courts are being used against government rivals.
