The Federal High Court in Owerri, Imo State, has dismissed a suit seeking the deregistration of the Action Peoples Party (APP) and affirmed its status as a legally registered political party.
The court also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to retain the party on its register and include it in the 2027 general election.
Justice Iniekenimi Oweibo delivered the judgment on June 2, 2026, in suit number FHC/OW/CS/39/2026.
The ruling comes amid a separate development in Abuja, where another Federal High Court reportedly ordered INEC to deregister the APP alongside four other political parties.
The suit was filed by Mazi Ngororo Chinazo against INEC, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the APP.
The plaintiff sought a declaration that INEC could not continue to recognise the APP as a registered political party after its alleged deregistration during the electoral commission’s February 6, 2020 deregistration exercise.
He argued that the party had ceased to exist legally under Sections 225 and 225A of the Constitution and Section 94 of the Electoral Act 2022.
Counsel for the plaintiff, I.M.O. George, maintained that the APP’s continued recognition by INEC was unlawful because the party had purportedly been removed from the electoral register in 2020.
However, Justice Oweibo held that the plaintiff failed to establish that the APP was among the political parties deregistered by INEC.
The court found that the APP had earlier challenged attempts to remove it from the register and obtained a restraining order from the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory preventing INEC from taking action against the party.
According to the court, the order remains valid and binding.
The judge held that INEC had no legal obligation to remove a political party that had not been lawfully deregistered.
He further stated that any attempt to do so would be inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.
Justice Oweibo resolved all five issues raised in the suit against the plaintiff and dismissed the case in its entirety.
The court also rejected all the reliefs sought by the plaintiff.
In the judgment, the judge described the action as one that ought not to have been filed.
He noted that the plaintiff was aware, from his own investigations, that the APP had not been deregistered and was also aware of earlier judgments of the High Court and the Court of Appeal affirming the party’s legal status.
The court further held that the suit amounted to a waste of judicial time and the resources of the defendants.
Consequently, Justice Oweibo awarded ₦10 million costs against the plaintiff in favour of INEC and another ₦10 million in favour of the APP.
The judgment effectively reinforces the APP’s position as a recognised political party pending any contrary decision from a higher court.
The ruling also adds another layer to the legal uncertainty surrounding political party deregistration, coming shortly after a Federal High Court in Abuja reportedly ordered INEC to deregister the APP, the African Democratic Congress, Accord Party, Zenith Labour Party and Action Alliance.
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