Appeal court nullifies judgment voiding NDC registration

The court of appeal in Abuja has nullified the judgement of the federal high court in Lokoja that ordered the deregistration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

The appellate court on Friday ruled that the judgement of the lower court on the case was faculty.

In June, a federal high court in Lokoja set aside its earlier judgement which compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register NDC as a political party.

Isah Dashen, the presiding judge, had held that the December 10, 2025, judgement was delivered without hearing all necessary parties, rendering the proceedings constitutionally defective.

The judgement followed an application by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which argued that it had a legal interest in the case and should have been joined as a party before the court delivered its ruling.

The judge agreed, holding that the applicant had established sufficient interest to be joined in the proceedings and ruled that the omission rendered the entire process null and void.

‘NDC REGISTRATION REMAINS VALID’

In a statement published on his X handle, Seriake Dickson, national leader of the NDC, said the appeal court’s judgement means that the party’s registration “remains valid and subsisting”.

Dickson said the next task is to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 election.

“We want to use this opportunity once again to commend the Nigerian judiciary, and in particular, Hon. Justice Danjuma and Hon. Justice Hassan, for upholding the integrity of the Nigerian judiciary and, by their decisions, expanding the sphere of multiparty democratic participation in Nigeria,” the statement reads.

“We have said repeatedly that the NDC was set up to expand the frontier of multiparty democracy in Nigeria. Justice Dashen’s judgment a few months ago was an unexpected assault on our constitutional right to participate and an attempt to narrow the democratic space.

“Happily, today, by the decision of the Court of Appeal, the Nigerian democratic space has been protected, and the NDC’s right to participate in all political activities as a registered political party has been upheld.”