The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has delivered a scathing indictment of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) over his backing of a court action seeking the deregistration of five political parties, describing the move as “a calculated, desperate, and dangerous assault on Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.”
In a strongly worded statement on Thursday, the civil rights group warned that the legal push to delist parties such as the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), Accord, and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) is not a neutral enforcement of constitutional provisions, but a politically charged maneuver capable of crippling opposition politics ahead of future elections.
HURIWA said the development has exposed what it called “a troubling convergence of legal authority and partisan interest,” particularly faulting the AGF for aligning with the plaintiffs in a suit where he is also named as a defendant.
“That contradiction is not just irregular—it is deeply concerning and fundamentally undermines the credibility of the office,” the group stated. “The Attorney General cannot be seen to stand on both sides of a matter that strikes at the very heart of Nigeria’s democratic structure.”
The controversy stems from a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, which is seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the affected parties for allegedly failing to meet constitutional performance thresholds outlined in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
But HURIWA insisted that the timing, context, and manner of the move raise serious red flags.
“This is not merely about constitutional compliance. It is about the dangerous weaponization of the law to shrink political space and silence alternative voices,” the group said.
According to HURIWA, democracy cannot thrive where legal instruments are deployed selectively to weaken opposition platforms, warning that such actions risk setting Nigeria on a path toward political dominance by a single bloc.
The group also cautioned against the far-reaching implications of the reliefs being sought in the suit, which include barring the affected parties from participating in elections, campaigns, rallies, and other political activities.
“Granting these requests would amount to judicially sanctioned political exclusion,” HURIWA said. “It would establish a precedent where electoral performance—within a system widely acknowledged to be uneven—becomes a tool for political elimination.”
HURIWA condemns AGF move to deregister parties, says its dangerous for democracy
