Court orders INEC to register ADA, release access code within 72 hours
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to proceed with the registration of the All Democratic Alliance (ADA) as a political party and release its access code to the leadership of the association led by Akin Ricketts.
Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Peter Lifu directed INEC to issue the access code to the association’s interim secretary within 72 hours and nullified all actions previously taken on behalf of the association by Umar Ardo.
The court held that the electoral commission acted unlawfully by issuing the access code to Ardo, ruling that he was neither the recognised acting secretary nor authorised representative of the association. Justice Lifu declared the commission’s action illegal, wrongful, null and void.
The judge also ordered INEC to reopen its registration portal for one week to enable the association to upload all outstanding documents required for registration, including its membership register.
The suit, filed by the plaintiff through its counsel, Stephen Atabo, challenged INEC’s decision to issue the access code to Ardo, arguing that the information uploaded on the commission’s portal differed from the details contained in the association’s original letter of intent.
The plaintiff also sought an order compelling INEC to release the access code, register the association as a political party and issue it a certificate of registration.
Justice Lifu further directed the electoral commission to extend the May 10, 2026 deadline for the submission of the party’s digital membership register as well as the May 30, 2026 deadline for the submission of its candidate list.
ADA was among eight political associations that INEC announced in October 2025 had successfully completed the upload of the required information and documentation and had progressed to the verification stage of the registration process.
