Court directs 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 register the All Democratic Alliance (ADA) as a political party and release its access code to the political association’s leadership led by Akin Ricketts within 72 hours.

Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Peter Lifu directed INEC to issue the access code to ADA’s interim secretary within the stipulated period. The court also nullified every action taken on behalf of the association by Umar Ardo, holding that he lacked the authority to act for the group.

Justice Lifu ruled that INEC acted unlawfully by issuing the access code to Ardo, who, according to the court, was neither the recognised acting secretary nor an authorised representative of the association. The judge consequently declared the commission’s decision illegal, wrongful, null and void.

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The court further ordered INEC to reopen its registration portal for one week to allow ADA upload all outstanding documents required for its registration, including its digital membership register.

The judge also directed the electoral commission to extend the May 10, 2026 deadline for the submission of the party’s digital membership register and the May 30, 2026 deadline for the submission of its candidate list.

The suit was instituted by the plaintiff through its counsel, Stephen Atabo, against INEC and Umar Ardo. The plaintiff argued that the electoral commission breached the law by granting the access code to Ardo instead of the association’s recognised leadership.

According to the plaintiff, the information uploaded on INEC’s portal did not correspond with the details contained in the association’s original letter of intent. It therefore asked the court to declare the information illegal, unlawful, null and void.

The plaintiff also sought orders compelling INEC to release the appropriate access code to enable the association complete the registration process by uploading the required documents. In addition, it requested that the commission be directed to formally register ADA as a political party and issue it a certificate of registration.

Earlier, in October 2025, INEC announced that ADA was among 8 associations that had successfully uploaded all required information and documentation out of the 14 groups seeking registration as political parties. The commission said the next phase would involve a detailed assessment and verification of the submitted documents.

The other associations that progressed to that stage were the Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA), Abundance Social Party (ASP), African Alliance Party (AAP), Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), Green Future Party (GFP), National Democratic Party (NDP), and Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).