Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, has warned that the recent Canadian court judgment classifying Nigeria’s two dominant political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as “terrorist organisations” carries grave implications for the country’s democracy and international standing.
Speaking on the theme: “Beyond Judicial Recognition of APC and PDP as Terrorist Societies”, Falana argued that the ruling should not be dismissed with insults or diplomatic protests, but treated as a wake-up call to confront the culture of electoral violence and impunity that has plagued Nigeria’s political system for decades.
According to him, Nigeria’s Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2022 already provides a broad definition of terrorism, which covers not only armed attacks but also actions intended to intimidate the public, coerce government, or disrupt critical infrastructure.
He said, despite provisions exempting peaceful protests, the Federal Government continues to criminalise dissent by charging unarmed demonstrators, such as participants in the #EndHardship protests, with terrorism and treason, while shielding politicians whose conduct has directly led to widespread deaths.
Falana noted that both APC and PDP routinely rig elections with the backing of armed thugs, police, and military personnel, often leading to loss of lives, yet perpetrators are never prosecuted.
“The election riggers dare their opponents to go to court, and judges in turn confer legitimacy on stolen mandates,” he said.
He referenced the case of Douglas Egharevba, a Nigerian asylum seeker in Canada, whose appeal was dismissed last Thursday. In her ruling, Justice Phuong Ngo of the Canadian Federal Court declared that APC and PDP had engaged in conduct amounting to terrorism and subversion of democratic institutions.
While the APC described the judge as “ignoramus” and “racist” and the PDP dismissed the ruling as “mischievous,” Falana insisted their reactions “merely beg the question.”
He, however, warned that instead of trading insults, the parties should adopt legal measures to prove they are not terrorist organisations.
He recalled statements by past and present leaders of the two parties that glorified political violence, citing former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s description of the 2003 elections as a “do-or-die affair,” Muhammadu Buhari’s infamous “dog and baboon soaked in blood” warning ahead of the 2015 polls, and Bola Tinubu’s 2023 declaration urging his supporters to “fight for power, grab it, snatch it, and run with it.”
“These reckless utterances, combined with the violence and killings during elections, corroborate the Canadian court’s findings,” Falana said, noting that just yesterday’s by-elections witnessed widespread vote-buying, ballot snatching, and the arrest of nearly 300 thugs in Kano State alone.
He warned that unless urgent reforms are made, the consequences of the Canadian judgment could extend beyond Nigeria. Asylum applications by APC or PDP members may now face blanket rejection in Canada and could influence similar rulings in the US, UK, and other Western countries. “If registered abroad, members of both parties risk deportation, visa denials, and international stigma,” he said.
Falana urged the Nigerian government to urgently retain immigration lawyers to appeal the judgment and “remove the stigma of infamy.” He also called on the judiciary and security agencies to compel political actors to operate within the Constitution and the Electoral Act, and for judges to sanction electoral offenders “no matter how highly placed.”
“The collateral damage of the judgment will not only affect APC and PDP members but also ordinary Nigerians, whose country is now projected as being run by two terrorist organisations,” he said.
