Political analyst Jide Ojo has criticized the role of Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), in the legal dispute over the attempted deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
Speaking on Trust TV after the Court of Appeal in Abuja overturned a Federal High Court judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the parties, Ojo argued that the case had significant political implications in addition to its legal aspects.
He noted that the plaintiffs were not members of the affected parties and maintained that INEC is the constitutional body empowered to register and regulate political parties. Ojo also referenced the commission’s deregistration of 74 political parties in 2019 before subsequent constitutional amendments.
“I have a lot of respect for Prince Lateef Fagbemi; he needs to watch his step, he needs to be very careful, because he’s the chief legal adviser to the government. He ought to have advised that such a suit be withdrawn, and he should never have participated in it,” Ojo said.
Fagbemi, who was joined as a defendant in the suit, had argued that retaining the affected parties was inconsistent with the Constitution and undermined Nigeria’s electoral integrity.
