The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbe- mi (SAN), has joined the Forum of former Legislators in seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deregister five political parties.

Although the AGF is a defendant in the suit against the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Accord Party and three others, the AGF in a dramatic turn at the Federal High Court in Abuja, pitched tents with the former legislators in pushing for the scrapping of the affected parties before the 2027 general elec- tions.

The minister predi- cated his position on the argument that the continued existence of ADC, Accord Party and others violated consti- tutional provisions and undermines Nigeria’s electoral integrity. The Attorney General contended that unless the court intervenes, INEC would “continue to act in breach of its constitutional duty” by retaining parties that have failed to meet the minimum requirements prescribed by law. In the process filed before the court, AGF stressed that the right to associate as a political party is not absolute and must be exercised within constitutional limits.

The minister further argued that it is in the interest of justice for the court to grant the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/ CS/2637/2026 and filed at the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, lists the In- corporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators as the sole plaintiff.

The defendants include INEC as the first defen- dant and the AGF as the second defendant, alongside five political parties: African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), Accord (A), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP). The contention is whether INEC has a constitutional obligation to remove parties that fail to meet electoral perfor- mance thresholds set out in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s own regulations.

The plaintiffs argued that the affected parties have persistently failed to satisfy the constitutional benchmarks required to retain their registration. These include winning at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or securing at least one elective seat at the national, state or local government level.

They contended that the parties performed poorly in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, failing to win seats across key tiers of government, yet continue to be recognised by INEC as eligible political platforms.

The plaintiffs maintained that the continued recognition is unlawful and undermines the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system. Meanwhile, in a notice filed pursuant to Order 15 Rule 1 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019, the Attorney General, who is a defendant in the suit, formally admitted the plaintiff’s case to the extent of his constitutional responsibilities.