ABUJA — The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly condemned a ruling by the Federal Court of Canada upholding the classification of Nigeria’s two major political parties — the PDP and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) — as terrorist organisations, calling the verdict “misinformed, biased, and without evidence.”
The controversial decision, delivered on June 17, 2025, by Justice Phuong Ngo, also denied asylum to former party member Douglas Egharevba, who had been affiliated with both parties over a decade. The Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) had previously found him inadmissible under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), citing alleged involvement of both parties in political violence, democratic subversion, and electoral bloodshed in Nigeria.
Court documents claim the IAD relied on PDP’s alleged role in ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, and attacks on opposition supporters during the 2003 state elections and 2004 local government polls. Egharevba, who joined the PDP in 1999 before switching to the APC in 2007, moved to Canada in 2017 and disclosed his political history during immigration proceedings.
Reacting in Abuja, PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, rejected the ruling, insisting that no Nigerian political party meets the definition of a terrorist organisation.
“Nigeria and Canada are both democracies. While freedom of speech is important, it should be exercised responsibly,” Osadolor said. “There’s nothing to show that even the malfunctioning APC is a terrorist organisation, let alone the PDP, which is a credible institution. If there are individuals with ties to terrorism, they should be named and prosecuted, but to label entire political parties is wrong.”
Former Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, also warned that the ruling could set a dangerous precedent for global democracy.
“This is a political earthquake with consequences that could reverberate far beyond Canada’s borders,” Soneye said in a statement. “It blurs the vital line between dissent and danger, between governance and extremism. Once such a label is applied, it can be used to silence opposition, suppress political participation, and erode civil liberties.”
Soneye further cautioned that Nigerians abroad who have ever been party members may now face heightened scrutiny, visa denials, or asylum rejections — not only in Canada but in other Western nations that might adopt similar positions.
The ruling has sparked widespread outrage among political observers in Nigeria, with many warning it risks undermining the legitimacy of the country’s democratic institutions on the global stage.
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