Prof Joash Amupitan, INEC chair
By Amah
Kindly share:
In a landmark judgment with far-reaching implications for political party registration and democratic participation in Nigeria, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Tuesday declared the Liberation People’s Party (LPP) a duly registered political party and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue it a Certificate of Registration within 30 days.
The unanimous judgment, delivered by a three-member panel of Justices Hamma Barka Banjoko, Mohammed Lawal Abubakar Abang, and Jane Esienanwan Inyang Oyewunmi, marks the culmination of a prolonged legal battle between the political association and the electoral commission.
The appellate court also awarded N5 million in damages against INEC for its actions and imposed an additional N500,000 as costs.
The controversy dates back to 2025 when INEC commenced the process of considering applications from aspiring political associations, seeking registration as political parties ahead of future electoral cycles.
Out of a staggering 171 political associations that expressed interest, the Liberation People’s Party emerged among the 14 associations that were prequalified by the electoral body to proceed to the next stage of registration.
Following its prequalification, LPP paid the mandatory administrative fee of N2 million as required by INEC and was subsequently issued an access code that granted the association 30 days to upload supporting documents through the commission’s online registration portal.
However, according to court records, the process took an unexpected turn when INEC allegedly blocked the party’s access to the portal before the expiration of the 30-day period, thereby preventing the association from completing the upload of critical documents required for registration.
Repeated representations and requests by LPP, asking the commission to reopen the portal reportedly yielded no positive response, forcing the association to seek judicial intervention at the Federal High Court in Abuja in January 2026.
At the Federal High Court, the party challenged INEC’s actions and sought declarations affirming its right to registration.
However, Justice Binta Fatima Nyako dismissed the claims, holding, among other reasons, that the association had submitted portions of its application manually rather than exclusively through the online platform prescribed by INEC.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, the Liberation People’s Party proceeded to the Court of Appeal.
However, in overturning the decision of the Federal High Court, the Court of Appeal held that the circumstances of the case clearly demonstrated that LPP had substantially complied with the registration requirements and that INEC could not benefit from a situation created by its own actions.
The court ruled that the association ought to be regarded as having been registered by operation of law pursuant to Section 75(4) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
According to the appellate court, once the statutory period prescribed under the Electoral Act elapsed without a lawful decision rejecting the application, the party became entitled to registration.
The court consequently declared that the Liberation People’s Party should be deemed registered with effect from December 2025, being sixty days after the submission of its application.
Beyond merely recognising the party’s legal status, the Court of Appeal issued a mandatory order, directing INEC to formally issue the Liberation People’s Party with its Certificate of Registration within 30 days from the date of judgment.
The court further held INEC liable for damages, arising from the wrongful obstruction of the registration process and awarded N5 million compensation to the party, alongside N500,000 as litigation costs.
Political observers say the judgment represents a significant affirmation of the rule of law and serves as a reminder that administrative agencies must operate within the boundaries established by statute.
The decision is also expected to resonate among emerging political movements and reform-oriented groups, seeking to expand Nigeria’s political space beyond the dominance of established parties.
Analysts note that the ruling reinforces the principle that regulatory authorities cannot frustrate applicants through procedural obstacles and subsequently rely on those same obstacles as grounds for denying legal rights.
For the Liberation People’s Party, the judgment brings to an end what party supporters describe as a difficult and exhausting journey toward political recognition.
With the court now affirming its status as a registered political party, attention is expected to shift toward the party’s organisational expansion, membership drive, and participation in Nigeria’s evolving democratic landscape.
The ruling is already being viewed by many legal and political stakeholders as one of the most consequential appellate decisions on political party registration since the enactment of the Electoral Act 2022.
