There have been several published reports from national dailies stating that a Canadian court has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) terrorist organisations.

“A Canadian Federal Court has upheld a landmark immigration tribunal ruling that declared Nigeria’s major political parties — the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party — terrorist organisations, while refusing asylum to a former member, Douglas Egharevba, over his decade-long affiliation with both parties,” one of the reports read.

The reports cited a judgment delivered on June 17, 2025, by Justice Phuong Ngo of a federal court in Canada, where a former member of the APC and PDP, Douglas Egharevba, had his application for judicial review dismissed and denied asylum over his affiliation with both parties.

CLAIM:

The PDP and APC were declared terrorist organisations by a Canadian court.

VERIFICATION:

The Guardian obtained and reviewed the 16-page document detailing the judgment delivered in June by Justice Phuong Ngo of a federal court in Canada on Egharevba’s appeal.

Egharevba had sought refugee status in Canada in September 2017, but his application was rejected.

The court document stated that an immigration officer declared that Egharevba was inadmissible to Canada for being a member of “an organization that has engaged in acts of subversion against a democratic government, institution, or process and engaged in terrorism, based on his membership with the PDP” in 2020.

As stated in the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), a foreign national is inadmissible into the country on security grounds if he/she is a member of an organisation that engages in acts of subversion against a democratic government or terrorism.

The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness appealed this decision, but the Immigration Division (ID) “concluded that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the leadership of both the PDP and APC intended to cause death or serious bodily harm or intended to subvert democratic processes in Nigeria”.

The appeal application was accepted, but the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) concluded that Egharevba was inadmissible to Canada for being a member of an organisation that there are reasonable grounds to believe that it has engaged, or will engage in terrorism or subversion of government, in March 2024.

The IAD also noted that there was no evidence to prove that the former PDP member engaged in terrorism or subversion and added that the PDP engaged in political violence in the 2003 and 2004 Nigerian elections.

The IAD concluded that the PDP engaged in political violence and subversion, including ballot stuffing, ballot box snatching, voter intimidation, violence, and murder of opposition supporters and candidates in the 2003 state elections and 2004 local elections.

“The conduct of individuals who are members of the PDP, including high-ranking officials, and those who committed political violence and intimidation on their behalf, is too widespread and persistent over too great a period of time to dissociate the leadership of the party from their actions.”

Egharevba sought a review of this decision by the Immigration Appeal Division [IAD]. According to him, he never personally engaged in terrorism or subversion. He also noted that elections in Nigeria are not democratic per Canadian standards, and political violence is generally accepted in Nigeria as an attribute of elections in the country.

The judge dismissed his position, stating that there was “nothing to support his assertion that the elections are not encompassed within the definition of ‘a democratic institution or process as they are understood in Canada”.

Justice Phuong Ngo also held that Mr Egharevba’s membership of the PDP was enough to declare him inadmissible into Canada.

“At the hearing, the parties agreed that if I were to find the IAD’s analysis to be reasonable on either subversion or terrorism, that would be sufficient to uphold the finding of inadmissibility under paragraph 34(1)(f) given that the Applicant could be determined to be inadmissible on the basis of either paragraph 34(1)(b.1) or 34(1)(c),” he wrote.

Justice Phuong Ngo concluded that the IAD’s decision to reject his application on the grounds of being a member of the PDP is not unreasonable; however, he did not state that the PDP and APC are terrorist organisations.

“Given the above, the Decision is not unreasonable and the application for judicial review must therefore be dismissed,” the judge wrote.

VERDICT:

Justice Phuong Ngo did not declare APC and PDP terrorist organisations. Reports that a Canadian court declared the APC and PDP terrorist organisations are misleading.