Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has expressed support for the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of five political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

In a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed held that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court acted in disregard of an earlier appellate directive, which had instructed that proceedings in the matter be suspended pending the determination of pending appeals.

The appellate court noted that it had earlier, on May 22, ordered a stay of proceedings in the case, pending the outcome of appeals filed before it.

Reacting to the development, Atiku—who is also the ADC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 elections—commended the appellate court’s intervention and described the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) involvement in seeking a stay as “significant.”

“I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay,” he said.

He added that the situation reflects growing concern over what he described as “judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings,” stressing that the judiciary is increasingly under public scrutiny.

Aligning with remarks previously made by ADC national chairman David Mark, Atiku said the judiciary was effectively “on trial” due to recent controversies.

According to him, any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s democracy through judicial interference poses a serious risk to national stability.

“Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice,” he warned.

Atiku urged the judiciary to remain faithful to constitutional principles and the rule of law, insisting it still had an opportunity to rebuild public trust.

Meanwhile, the Federal High Court had on Monday ordered the deregistration of the ADC, Action Democratic Congress, Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), ruling that they failed to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.

The court also barred INEC from recognising the parties, receiving nominations from them, or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general elections.

The ruling followed a suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties no longer met the legal thresholds required to remain registered.