The Court of Appeal has unanimously set aside a Federal High Court judgment that had nullified guidelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 general elections.
In a lead judgment prepared by Justice Adebukola Banjoko and read by Justice Okon Abang, the three-member panel ruled that the Youth Party (YP), which had challenged the guidelines, lacked the legal standing to bring the case.
Justice Banjoko noted that the party failed to demonstrate how the guidelines affected it or its members in conducting primary elections for the nomination of candidates for the 2027 polls. The court also found that YP could not establish how the guidelines impacted the submission of its nominated candidates to INEC.
The justices unanimously held that Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who had nullified the guidelines on May 20 on the grounds that they violated provisions of the Electoral Act, erred significantly, resulting in a miscarriage of justice.
INEC had appealed the High Court’s decision, arguing through its lead counsel, Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN), that the lower court failed to address the jurisdictional issue of the suit being hypothetical and academic, and that the ruling denied the commission fair hearing.
The Federal High Court had earlier invalidated the timeline INEC set for parties to conduct primaries and nominate candidates, as well as the commission’s May 10 deadline requiring parties to submit a register and database of their members as a condition for participating in the elections.
Justice Umar had ruled that the timeframe was inconsistent with the Electoral Act, 2026.In its appeal filed on May 25, 2026, INEC asked the appellate court to set aside the High Court judgment and to stay its execution.
