Just In: Game Over for INEC as Court Gives Final Verdict on Youth Party’s Case
- It is a piece of good news for the leadership of the Youth Party but a sad development for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
- This is as the suit seeking to de-registration of the Youth Party has been declared illegal and null and void by the Supreme Court
- In a fresh ruling on Monday, December 19, the court dismissed the appeal by INEC noting the Youth Party is registered and should be allowed to participate in the 2023 polls
The Supreme Court has affirmed the Court of Appeal judgment which declared the de-registration of the Youth Party illegal and null and void.
The apex court, in a unanimous judgment, dismissed the appeal by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Source: Original
The court's final verdict
It held that Youth Party is registered and eligible to participate in the 2023 general elections, The Nation reported.
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The Justices, led by Uwani Musa Abba Aji, upheld the decision of the Federal High Court Abuja delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo.
Justice Ekwo had declared the purported de-registration of the party illegal, null and void.
The Youth Party, through its lawyers, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), Chukwudi Adiukwu, and Wale Irokosu, urged the highest court to dismiss the appeal and uphold the lower court’s judgment.
INEC's action declared illegal against the law
INEC was found to be persistently disregarded the law and judicial decisions in failing to register the party within the stipulated time.
INEC had failed to register the party after it got a judgment against it on October 18, 2017, in the case numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/221/2017 between Chukwudi Adiukwu and others vs INEC.
The electoral umpire illegally de-registered Youth Party while the parties were before the Federal High Court.
INEC has not listed the party on its website as registered or allowed it to participate in any election even in the face of the judgement, which had not been set aside or stayed.
Court's final ruling
Justice Ekwo had held:
“The defendant is not above the law. No person or parties to an action is allowed to resort to self-help when an action is pending in court.”
The court held that the defendant’s power under Section 225A (b) & (c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to de-register a political party does not justify the action of the defendant while the case was pending before the lower court.
The party said the failure to register it on time had adversely affected it.
Jubilation as court gives verdict on Bola Tinubu's certificate forgery scandal
The certificate forgery filed by the Action Alliance (AA) against the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, has been dismissed by a federal high court in Abuja on Tuesday, December 13.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuata, the suit filed by the AA was statute-barred as it overlapped the mandatory 14 days that the 1999 constitution (as amended) had made provision for.
According to Egwuata, the suit is now academic and grossly incompetent, adding that the court did not have the jurisdiction to entertain it or grant the relief that the plaintiff sought.
Source: Legit.ng
