• Party Vows To Appeal Ruling
• No Judge Can Deregister Hopes Of Nigerians — Obi Media Reach

The fate of all candidates for the 2027 general elections nominated on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) now hangs in the balance as a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja on Friday withdrew the legal recognition earlier granted to the party, effectively removing it from the register of recognised political parties in Nigeria.

The court, in a ruling delivered by Justice Isah Dashen in Suit No. FHC/LKJ/CS/49/2025, set aside its December 10, 2025 judgment, which had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise and register the NDC.

The court upheld an application by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which argued that it was a necessary party in the suit.

The judge further held that failure to include the PMP amounted to a denial of fair hearing and rendered the previous judgment invalid.

Justice Dashen ordered that the parties return to the position they were in before the December 10, 2025 judgment, pending the fresh determination of the substantive case.

The judge also held that some material facts were not brought before it during the earlier proceedings, a development that contributed to its decision to set aside the judgment.

Reacting to the judgment, the NDC and the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR) described it as a temporary legal hurdle and not the end of what they described as a growing national movement for political change.

NDC National Chairman, Sen. Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, said the party had directed its team of lawyers to challenge the order at the Court of Appeal.

In a statement on Friday, Zuwoghe assured the public and candidates of the party in the forthcoming 2027 elections that “our party is on course,” stressing that “the NDC has not been deregistered.”

The statement read in part: “The public knows that by December 2025, the Nigeria Democratic Congress as an association complained of INEC’s refusal to register us as a political party, whereupon we proceeded to the Federal High Court. The Federal High Court upheld our constitutional right to freedom of association under the Constitution and compelled INEC to register us, which INEC did.

“Since then, we have started political activities, embarked on the registration of members, held congresses from ward to national levels, held conventions and concluded primaries to all offices following INEC’s timetable. We have been fully participating in all INEC activities without let or hindrance.

“NDC also fielded candidates and fully participated in the just-concluded bye-elections in Nasarawa and Enugu states.

“Candidates for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate, Governorship, Presidential, and Vice-Presidential positions have been duly nominated, and we are in the process of formally submitting them to INEC in accordance with INEC’s timetable.

“The association that filed the complaint is unknown to us. The Peace Movement Party (PMP) is not a registered political party in Nigeria. They claimed, in a motion (not even a substantive suit or appeal), that the court should set aside its earlier judgment on the purported ground that, in 2015, they had sought registration as a political party with the victory sign as their symbol and were denied.

“It is important to note that they are not an association applying for registration now under the exercise that started last year. They are also not a registered political party in Nigeria participating in the political process now, as we are.

“Furthermore, the court, having delivered a final judgment in our suit against INEC, had become functus officio. The court had also dealt with all related issues concerning associations claiming they wanted to use the same symbol and colours. The court, in its judgment, overruled INEC when those issues were raised, and there is no appeal against that judgment.

“Therefore, we are surprised that, on an application by an association claiming that it wanted to register as a political party with the victory sign in 2015, an association that is not a registered political party and is not seeking registration now to participate in the current political process, His Lordship came to the conclusion that they have locus standi, and furthermore, that he has jurisdiction to do what he did.

“Accordingly, we have been informed that His Lordship made an order setting aside the court’s earlier decision of December 2025.

“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.

“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.”

The party condemned what it described as 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.

“It is too late for anyone to attempt to use the judiciary to derail or narrow Nigeria’s multi-party democratic space. If the said association (Peace Movement Party) were a party affected by the judgment on our initial suit, the only option open to it was to appeal the verdict, an option which it did not take. Even at that, the window open for such appeal has since closed and any such appeal by now has become statute-barred.

“To now try to upturn that verdict through the back door, via a motion, is not only unheard-of, but also illegal and an outright abuse of court process.”

On its part, the POMR in a statement on Friday by its spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr., insisted that the court’s decision would neither weaken the support base of the movement nor derail the quest for what he called “a New Nigeria.”

Zekeri said those celebrating the judgment as a political knockout blow were mistaken.

“What happened today is a legal development, not a political verdict,” he said. “It is a procedural setback, not a rejection of the vision, values and aspirations that have drawn millions of Nigerians to the NDC and to the leadership of Mr. Peter Obi.”

The POMR spokesman disclosed that the movement’s legal team had already commenced a review of the judgment and was preparing immediate appellate action aimed at overturning the decision.

According to him, the court ruling cannot erase the widespread dissatisfaction among Nigerians over economic hardship, insecurity, unemployment, corruption and what he described as deepening governance failures.

Zekeri argued that the movement for change transcends the fate of any single political platform.

“The NDC was born out of the yearning of Nigerians for competent, accountable and people-oriented leadership. That yearning did not begin with a certificate of registration and it cannot be extinguished by the withdrawal of one,” he said.

He maintained that millions of Nigerians had invested their hopes not in a political certificate, but in the broader objective of national transformation. Those hopes, he stressed, remain intact.

“The movement remains alive. The mission remains alive. The destination remains unchanged,” he said.

Friday’s judgment came exactly 10 days after the Court of Appeal in Abuja ordered a stay of execution of the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordering INEC to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice Abubakar Mohammed, accused Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja of flouting an order it made on May 22, which directed him to suspend proceedings before him.

The appellate court had held that Justice Lifu’s action amounted to an affront and judicial rascality on the hierarchy of courts.

It held that the lower court’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence,” stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such manner “is unfit for the bench as it amounts to judicial rascality.”

Recently, Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to investigate what he described as conflicting court rulings that could undermine preparations for the 2027 general elections.

In a statement entitled ‘Nigerian Judges and Lawyers Should Be Prevented From Sabotaging the 2027 Election,’ Falana had expressed concern over recent judgments delivered by judges of the Federal High Court on the powers of INEC regarding election timelines.

The senior advocate recalled that Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court invalidated INEC’s timeline for the conduct of party primaries and nomination of candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.

The court also nullified INEC’s May 10 deadline, directing political parties to submit their membership registers and databases as part of the requirements for participation in the polls.

According to him, the court held that the timeframe announced by INEC for political parties to conduct primaries and submit, withdraw, or replace candidates “is inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.”

The suit was filed by the Youth Party against INEC
He further noted that INEC had appealed the ruling and filed a motion for a stay of execution pending the Court of Appeal’s determination of the appeal.

Falana said the situation became more complicated after another judge of the Federal High Court, Justice James Omotosho, ruled in a separate suit filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) that INEC possesses the constitutional authority to fix timelines for political party primaries and other electoral activities ahead of the 2027 elections.

He argued that the two judgments created uncertainty within the political system.

The legal luminary urged NJC and NBA to urgently investigate the circumstances surrounding the judgments in Youth Party vs. INEC and SDP vs. INEC, warning that failure to address the issue could threaten the credibility of the 2027 elections.

He stressed that judges and lawyers must avoid actions capable of undermining the credibility of future elections, warning that legal disputes should not become tools for disrupting democratic processes.

Drawing parallels with Nigeria’s political history, Falana warned that failure to address the situation could reopen painful memories of 1993, when conflicting court orders became part of the legal crisis surrounding the annulment of the June 12 presidential election.

“Unless the judges and lawyers involved are called to order, the 2027 election may be sabotaged by judges and lawyers,” he warned.