2027 election must be won at ballot, not in court — Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday declared that Nigeria’s 2027 general election must be decided at the ballot box, not in the courtroom, following the Court of Appeal’s decision overturning a Federal High Court judgment that sought to remove the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and other political parties from Nigeria’s democratic space.

The ruling removes the legal obstacles facing the ADC’s leadership, allowing the party to focus on the 2027 general election instead of fighting battles in court.

In a statement issued by his media office in Abuja, Atiku congratulated the Justices of the Court of Appeal for what he described as their courage, fidelity to the Constitution and unwavering commitment to justice, saying the judgment had reinforced public confidence in the judiciary and strengthened constitutional democracy.

“As the nation advances towards the 2027 general elections, political contests must be decided by the votes of Nigerians—not by contrived lawsuits seeking to achieve in the courtroom what cannot be won at the ballot box,” he said.

According to the statement, the appellate court’s ruling, alongside an earlier judgment by Justice Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, affirming the Senator David Mark-led National Executive Committee of the ADC, has effectively brought to an end all litigation challenging the party’s leadership ahead of the 2027 general election.

It said the development firmly establishes the ADC’s legal standing to participate in the polls.

The statement further noted that the Court of Appeal held that the judgment delivered on June 15 by Justice Lifu was a nullity because it was rendered in disobedience to a subsisting order of the appellate court. It added that the respondents lacked the locus standi to institute the action, describing their claims as speculative and legally unsustainable.

It also said the appellate court clarified that Section 225A of the Constitution should be interpreted disjunctively rather than conjunctively, holding that the suit was premature because the Osun and Ekiti election cycles were still ongoing when the action was filed.

According to Atiku, the appellate court also faulted the trial court for disregarding the uncontroverted affidavit evidence presented by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, confirming that the ADC and the other affected political parties had complied with all constitutional and statutory requirements.

“Having accepted INEC’s evidence, the lower court had no legal basis to manufacture additional conditions in order to arrive at what the Court of Appeal rightly described as a perverse decision,” he added.

Atiku described the judgment as extending far beyond the fortunes of a single political party, saying it represented a victory for constitutional democracy, the rule of law and every Nigerian who believes in free political competition.

“The strength of a democracy lies not in the exclusion of political opponents but in allowing the people to freely determine their leaders through the ballot,” he stated.

He also cautioned against attempts to weaponise the judiciary and other state institutions for political engineering, warning that such actions could erode public confidence in democratic institutions and weaken the country’s constitutional order.

“The judiciary must never be transformed into a battlefield for eliminating political competitors or shrinking the democratic space,” he warned.

Atiku nevertheless expressed appreciation to the Justices of the Court of Appeal for what he described as a courageous, impartial and constitutionally grounded judgment, saying the decision had strengthened public confidence in the administration of justice and reaffirmed the supremacy of the rule of law over political expediency.