By Samuel Abasiekong-Abasiekong
Femi Falana, SAN, a renowned human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has sent a clear warning to the judiciary and political actors saying the era of using court injunctions to hijack political parties is over.
Citing the provisions of Section 83 of the Electoral Act 2026, Falana clarified that Nigerian courts no longer have the authority to meddle in the internal housekeeping of political organizations.
Courts are strictly barred from granting interim or interlocutory injunctions in disputes involving how a party runs its own business, Falana insist.
Section 83 of the Electoral Act 2026 clearly says:
“No court in Nigeria shall entertain jurisdiction over any suit or matter pertaining to the internal affairs of a political party.”, that the law the legal luminary said.
And considering the recent derecognition of African Democratic Congress (ADC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) led by Prof. Joash Amupitan whom they say has expertise in Law of Evidence, Electoral Law, Corporate Governance, Privatization Law and Company Law, the enlightenment given by Femi Falana gets Nigerians in doubt of what Prof Joash Amupitan professed he is.
Prof Amupitan should have known that the framers of the Electoral Act 2026, and section 83 included this clause to stop politicians from “shopping” for friendly judges to get orders that suspend party chairmen, cancel primary elections and produce who they want at the last minute.
For years, Nigeria’s political space has been flooded with “conflicting court orders” that often threw party leadership into chaos. Falana argues that this new legal reality will
strengthen party supremacy.
Parties now have the final say on their leadership and candidate selection without the fear of a sudden court order from a remote division, Falana said.
Speaking further, Falana said, the courts will no longer be the “battleground” for every internal party squabble, as this will allow judges to focus on constitutional and criminal matters.
And by removing the power of injunctions, the risk of parties being excluded from ballots due to ongoing litigation is significantly reduced
”The internal affairs of political parties are domestic matters. The courts cannot and should not become a tool for politicians who fail to win within their own party structures to use it (the court) to constitute nuisance” Falana submitted
Falana’s intervention comes at a time when several parties are facing internal crises and leadership tussles. His message is a “wake-up call” to lawyers who continue to file such cases despite the clear provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
While some argue that this gives party leaders too much power and could lead to dictatorship within parties, Falana maintains that the law is a necessary step to bring sanity back to the democratic process.
