The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking a stay of execution of a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties. The electoral commission also backed a notice of appeal filed by the affected political parties, arguing that the judgment should not be enforced pending the determination of the appeal. During proceedings before a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, INEC expressed surprise over the decision of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to deliver the judgment despite an earlier order that reportedly restrained the lower court from doing so. Represented by a team of lawyers led by Haliru Mohammed, INEC told the appellate court that it was neither notified of the judgment date nor informed that the matter would proceed to judgment. According to the commission, it only became aware of the ruling through media reports. “My Lords, we are aware of an order made by this court on May 22, which stopped the delivery of the judgment of the lower court, initially scheduled for June 5,” INEC's counsel submitted. “We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgment. We only saw it reported as breaking news in the media. We therefore do not oppose the application by the appellants seeking a stay of execution of the judgment.” Counsel to the ADC, Mr. Shuaibu Aruwa (SAN), also informed the court that the party was notified of the judgment date through a WhatsApp message allegedly sent by the trial judge. Aruwa described the Federal High Court's decision as a challenge to judicial hierarchy and urged the appellate court to intervene by suspending the judgment and taking disciplinary measures against the trial judge. He argued that despite the Court of Appeal's earlier order, the trial court proceeded to deliver its verdict, an action he said undermined the authority of the appellate court. According to him, the appellate court possesses the constitutional authority to protect the integrity of the judicial process and should act swiftly to halt the enforcement of the judgment pending the hearing of the appeal. The Court of Appeal is expected to rule on the applications seeking a stay of execution and determine the next steps in the legal challenge surrounding the deregistration of the affected political parties.