IPAC warns against court-ordered party deregistration, says democracy under threat

By Jude Opara

The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has expressed concern over what it described as a growing trend of court judgments ordering the deregistration of political parties, warning that the development poses a threat to Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.
Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja, IPAC National Publicity Secretary, Martins Egbeola, said the recent judicial decisions, including the ruling ordering the deregistration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), have raised serious concerns about the future of constitutional democracy in the country.
According to him, the earlier judgments affecting five political parties, alongside the recent decision involving the NDC, could weaken Nigeria’s multi-party political system and undermine citizens’ constitutional rights to political participation and freedom of association.
Egbeola argued that, irrespective of the legal basis for the rulings, their cumulative effect could erode political pluralism, reduce democratic space and weaken constitutional safeguards protecting citizens’ political rights.
He warned that the pattern of court-ordered deregistration could amount to an erosion of Nigeria’s democratic system through judicial means if not carefully addressed.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the possibility that anti-democratic forces are working behind the scenes to manipulate state institutions for narrow political interests,” he said.
The IPAC spokesman therefore called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to ensure that judicial officers uphold the principles of independence, impartiality and fidelity to the Constitution.
He stressed that the judiciary must continue to inspire public confidence by safeguarding democratic governance and resisting any perception of political influence.
“The judiciary remains the last hope of the common man and must never be perceived as a tool in the hands of politicians,” Egbeola added.