The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) on Friday said it would challenge the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, which set aside its earlier order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the party.
The party maintained that it had not been deregistered despite the latest court ruling.
Among those who condemned the judgment were the presidential candidate of the NDC, Peter Obi; the Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party; members of the NDC caucus in the House of Representatives; the Obidient Movement; and the Kwankwasiyya Movement.
They alleged that the judgment was part of a broader attempt to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general election.
While the NDC maintained that there was no order directing its deregistration and assured members that all party activities would continue uninterrupted, opposition figures described the verdict as a dangerous development capable of shrinking the country’s democratic space and undermining confidence in the judiciary.
The controversy followed Friday’s ruling by Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court in Lokoja, who set aside the court’s December 10, 2025 judgment compelling INEC to register the NDC as a political party.
The judge held that the earlier judgment adversely affected the rights of the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which claimed ownership of the logo relied upon in obtaining the registration order but was not joined as a party in the suit.
Counsel for the applicant, C.S. Ekeocha, said the court ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the December 10 judgment and directed that all necessary parties be joined before the substantive suit is heard afresh.
According to him, the ruling effectively reversed every action taken by INEC pursuant to the earlier judgment, including the recognition of the NDC and the issuance of its certificate of registration, pending a fresh determination of the substantive suit.
Reacting within hours of the judgment, NDC National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, said the party’s legal team had been instructed to immediately challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.
In a statement posted on the party’s official Facebook page, Cleopas argued that the trial court had become functus officio after delivering its final judgment and therefore lacked the jurisdiction to set aside its earlier decision through a motion.
He also questioned the standing of the Peace Movement Party, insisting it was neither a registered political party nor part of the current registration process before the court.
‘There was no order directing our deregistration. However, we are dissatisfied with the decision that has been made, and we have instructed our team of lawyers to immediately proceed to the Court of Appeal to challenge the jurisdiction and propriety of His Lordship’s order’, he said.
Cleopas assured party members and candidates that the legal challenge would not affect preparations for the 2027 elections.
‘We assure the general public, and particularly our candidates at all levels, that our party is on course. The NDC has not been deregistered, and we are challenging today’s order at the Court of Appeal as soon as possible. We have no doubt that justice will be done’, he added.
The party chairman further accused unnamed forces of attempting to suppress opposition parties through the courts.
‘We condemn efforts by those who seek to shrink the democratic space and stifle opposition voices and alternatives. Nigerians have a right to a full range of opinions, ideas and alternatives, and political platforms and candidates should be allowed to participate in the 2027 general election process, which has already gone midway’, he stated.
Cleopas also described the application that resulted in Friday’s ruling as ‘illegal and an outright abuse of court process’, insisting that any aggrieved party ought to have appealed the original judgment rather than seek to overturn it through a motion.
Commenting on the judgment, Obi, in a statement posted on his social media platforms, described the development as another setback for the country’s democracy.
Obi stated, ‘Every Nigerian committed to the country’s progress should be deeply concerned. This judgment represents another setback for our democracy and the institutions upon which our future depends’.
He accused some political actors of undermining democratic institutions despite claiming to support democracy.
‘It is regrettable that some who claim to champion democracy now appear determined to weaken the very institutions that sustain it. In doing so, they are undermining public confidence and endangering the future of millions of Nigerians’, Obi said.
The former Anambra State governor also expressed concern over what he described as the weakening of key democratic institutions.
‘The legislature and the judiciary are increasingly being drawn into this pattern of institutional decline. Democracy cannot thrive where institutions lose their independence and credibility’, he added.
Obi maintained that his intervention was based on principle rather than political interest.
‘Those who seek to weaken Nigeria’s democratic foundations will not ultimately prevail. When a similar situation recently affected the ADC, I condemned it without hesitation. I do so again today because my position has always been guided by principle.
‘My concern is not about who becomes President. My concern is that Nigeria works. Our politics must move beyond the quest for power and focus instead on building a united nation founded on justice, strong institutions, the rule of law and equal opportunity’, he said.
‘I therefore urge all well-meaning Nigerians to rise above partisan interests and defend our democracy. The survival of our institutions is inseparable from the survival of our nation’, he stated.
Similarly, the Tanimu Turaki-led PDP faction condemned the judgment, describing it as another blow to the country’s democratic process.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the faction said it was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment but warned that the implications of the ruling were disturbing.
The statement read in part, ‘While we await the Certified True Copy of the judgment, we express our profound condemnation of the implications of the court order, which further constricts the democratic space in our country.
‘This order is not only an asphyxiation of multiparty democracy in Nigeria but also an economic crime against Nigerians who invested in the party’.
The faction further alleged that the development aligned with what it described as attempts by the APC-led Federal Government to weaken credible opposition ahead of 2027.
The House of Representatives caucus of the NDC also rejected the judgment, accusing the APC of orchestrating a ‘judicial coup against democracy’
In a statement by the caucus leader, Afam Ogene, the lawmakers described the ruling as ‘judicial banditry’ and vowed to challenge it up to the Supreme Court if necessary.
‘For us and many Nigerians, this is not an error of law. It is an assault on democracy. This is a calculated pattern of judicial harassment’, the lawmakers stated.
The caucus insisted that the statutory period for challenging the party’s registration had elapsed and questioned why INEC was not the party pursuing the latest proceedings.
‘The 90-day statutory window to challenge our party’s registration closed long ago. Strangely, INEC, the only constitutionally empowered body for party registration, was not the appellant in today’s curious judgment’, it added.
The lawmakers argued that the matter amounted to ‘lawfare’ aimed at frustrating the opposition.
‘We will not yield. The NDC will not be deregistered by judicial decree. We will pursue this illegality through every available legal remedy, right up to the Supreme Court, if that is what is required’, they declared.
Supporters of Obi and Kwankwaso also weighed in on the controversy.
Director-General of the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, John Ughulu, alleged that the latest court decision was aimed at preventing both politicians from appearing on the 2027 presidential ballot.
‘We know those who are behind this. If their aim is to stop Obi and Kwankwaso from being on the ballot, it is not possible. We will burn this country down. They’re only trying their luck’, he said.
Also reacting, spokesman for the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Habibu Muhammed, questioned the legality of the ruling.
He said, ‘We know this is a deliberate attempt to ensure that only President Bola Tinubu remains on the ballot. Outside that, how can you justify a court of the same jurisdiction undoing itself? It doesn’t happen anywhere. I think it’s only a higher court that can actually change a particular judgment.
‘So, if you look into it, you will discover that it’s just another gimmick. It is a plot by hirelings who are directly involved in ensuring that the APC is the only sole political party standing. And I assure you, it’s not going to stand.
‘We are, however, optimistic both Obi and Kwankwaso will be on the ballot in 2027’.
The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Dr Yunusa Tanko, also condemned what he described as contradictory judicial pronouncements concerning the NDC, warning against attempts to suppress viable opposition parties ahead of the next general election.
He alleged that recent court decisions were reinforcing public concerns that the judiciary was being used for partisan purposes and warned against any attempt to create a one-party state.
‘These developments only reinforce the growing public concern that the judiciary is being deployed as an instrument of partisan politics rather than an impartial guardian of justice.
‘Having acted on a valid and subsisting court order to its detriment by incurring substantial expenditure in preparation for elections, the NDC acquired legitimate legal expectations that cannot be arbitrarily defeated by the very court whose judgment it obeyed.
‘This desperate attempt to deploy state infrastructure and judicial technicalities to deregister or suppress viable opposition parties is clear. The ruling elite is terrified of the massive coalition building under the NDC banner, and they are actively attempting to shut down the democratic space before the first ballot is cast in 2027.
‘Let it be known that this highly manipulated judicial rascality will only set the country on fire. Nigeria belongs to all its citizens, not to a singular political cabal. The political landscape cannot be forcefully cleared to create a monolithic, one-party dictatorship, especially one that is hell-bent on destroying the country’, Tanko warned.
