PH
-Seven political parties de-registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC0 have been brought back to life by the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu., reports Vanguard.
The court on Thursday ordered INEC to de-register the parties.
The parties were de-registered on August 18, 2011, by the electoral body after failing to win any seat in the state House of Assembly or National Assembly, pursuant to Section 78 (7) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.
The political parties are Democratic Alternative (DA), National Action Council (NAC), National Democratic Liberty Party (NDLP), Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN), Nigeria Peoples Congress (NPC), Nigeria Elements Progressive Party (NEPP) and National Unity Party (NUP).
Naij reports that In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Tom Yakubu on behalf of other concurring judges, the court ordered that the seven political parties be restored back to life.
Jezie Ekejiuba, an Onitsha-based human rights lawyer approached a Federal High Court sitting in Awka, to challenge the de-registeration of the parties by INEC.
He argued that the de-registration of the parties was unconstitutional.
The Federal High Court dismissed the suit for lack of merit, saying INEC had the power to de-register political parties under the Nigerian constitution.
Not satisfied with the verdict, he moved to the Appeal Court to challenge the ruling.
The appellate court granted all the five reliefs Ekejiuba sought.
