Appeal Court halts enforcement of judgement ordering ADC, four parties’ deregistration

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has suspended the enforcement of a Federal High Court judgement that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.

A three-member panel of the appellate court, headed by Justice Abba Mohammed, issued the order in a unanimous ruling delivered on Tuesday.

The court held that the trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, proceeded to deliver the judgement despite an earlier directive from the Court of Appeal ordering a stay of proceedings in the case.

According to the appellate court, the lower court had on May 22 been instructed to suspend further action on the matter pending the determination of appeals already filed before it.

In its ruling, the panel said Justice Lifu acted in disregard of the subsisting order of the appellate court when he went ahead to pronounce judgement in the suit.

The decision effectively puts on hold the implementation of the Federal High Court ruling that sought to compel INEC to remove the ADC and four other political parties from its register until the pending appeals are determined.

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday revoked the bail it granted Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, over his absence in court for his trial.

Justice Mohammed Umar, in a ruling on an oral application made by the lawyer to the Department of State Services (DSS), Akinkolu Kehinde, SAN, also issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the DSSS is prosecuting Sowore for allegedly making false claims against the person of President Bola Tinubu by referring to him as “a criminal” in a post he made on his “X” and Facebook accounts.

Justice Umar had, on June 5, fixed Tuesday for ruling on application by Sowore, through his lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, seeking the judge’s recusal ftom the case.

However, when the case was called, neither Sowore not his lawyer was in court.

The court was then informed that the defendant had sent a letter seeking an adjournment of the matter.

But responding, the DSS counsel opposed the application for adjournment sought.

Kehinde argued that there was no cogent reason adduced by the defendant for the application.

He, therefore, prayed the court to revoke his bail and issue a bench warrant for his arrest.(NAN)

 
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested five suspected members of a kidnapping and banditry syndicate operating around the outskirts of Abuja, including a pregnant woman accused of providing food and logistical support to the criminal network.
 
The suspects were apprehended during a security operation carried out in the Byazin area of the FCT on June 11, 2026.
 
Speaking while parading the suspects in Abuja, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, said the operation led to the arrest of several gang members, the rescue of kidnapped victims, and the neutralisation of other suspects during an exchange with security operatives.
 
Among those arrested was Hauwa Shafiu, who police said was heavily pregnant at the time of her arrest. Investigators allege that she played a key role in sustaining the gang by supplying food and other essential items to both the kidnappers and their captives while they operated from their hideouts.
He said, “As a follow-up to that operation, upon further engagements, we stormed a suspected bandits’ and kidnappers’ hideout within the same area and arrested some suspects.
 
“One of the suspects, Shafiu, operates as a logistics supplier and cook for the criminal gang and their hostages. She was heavily pregnant at the time of her arrest, even though her pregnancy did not deter her from continuously committing this heinous crime,” the commissioner said.
 
He added that upon her arrest, he ordered that she be taken to a hospital, where she subsequently gave birth.
 
“The baby is sound and safe. She too is sound. We have provided every medical need while we watch her recuperate,” he said, noting that she remained in the police clinic.
 
Other suspects arrested are Yahaya Abdullahi, Muhammed Yunusa, and Shamsudeen Mustapha.
 
Speaking on them, Sanusi said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were part of a criminal network involved in kidnapping and banditry within and around the FCT and had strategically embedded themselves inside a local community located approximately one kilometre from the territory’s boundary.
 
“The group had infiltrated and integrated into a local community just about one kilometre away from the FCT itself, enabling them to gather intelligence and coordinate repeated attacks on targeted persons and locations,” the commissioner said.
 
He said exhibits recovered from the suspects included four motorcycles, 31 pieces of 500mg tramadol tablets, 10 pieces of 50mg tramadol tablets, five phones, one POS machine, cooking utensils, and N320,000 cash.
 
The commissioner said the cash was part of the proceeds from a recent kidnapping ransom.
 
“According to the confession of one of the suspects, the N320,000 was his share of a N7 million ransom paid to the kidnappers,” he revealed.
 
He also disclosed that a suspect confessed to having dispatched a motorcycle to help two fleeing bandits escape during the June 11 operation — confirming that two persons who evaded arrest that day had been assisted from within the network.
 
He said Mustapha was an active drug supplier to the bandit network.
 
The commissioner announced that the command, in collaboration with the FCT Administration, would demolish the identified hideouts of the suspects.
 
“We have an arrangement. Since we have identified their houses, we are moving from here to go and demolish those houses in collaboration with the FCT administration. Any such houses that we continue to identify, we will continue to bring down,” he said.
 
He also declared several bandits wanted whose photographs had been obtained, warning that the command was prepared for confrontation.
 
“As they are looking for us, we are equally looking for them,” he said.