Justice Gabriel Kolawole of Federal High Court, Abuja, has fixed December 9 for hearing, in a suit filed by a pro-democracy activist, Mr Richard Akinnola, challenging the registration of two political parties, Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, and Social Democratic Party, SDP, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The judge directed that there should be evidence of service on all the defendants before the adjourned date.

In an originating summons filed by Akinnola, he is querying the rationale behind the registration of the political parties by INEC to participate in the forthcoming general elections.

Akinnola is praying the court to nullify the purported registration granted the two parties on account of having been proscribed and dissolved by existing laws. He urged the court to determine whether INEC has power to resuscitate prohibited and dissolved parties without first repealing the laws that proscribed them.

The originating summon was filed on his behalf by Mr. James Ode Abah of Bamidele Aturu chambers. Respondents in the suit include INEC, SDP and UPN.

The plaintiff argued that UPN and SDP were outlawed out of existence by the Political Parties Dissolution Decrees of 1984 and 1993 respectively.

Akinnola wants the court to determine whether political parties dissolved or prohibited by an existing law from acting as political parties can function or act as parties without the repeal of the law that proscribed them.

He wants the court to declare that having been duly dissolved by virtue of existing laws of 1984 and 1993 are no longer political parties in the country and cannot function as such.