• APC Faults Media Reports
The Federal Government has frowned at the recent ruling by a Canadian Federal Court, which alleged that certain political parties in Nigeria are terrorist organisations.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has also declared that it is not a terrorist organisation and faulted media reports with such insinuations.
In a statement issued on Friday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and signed by its spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the Federal Government described the designation as a baseless classification, adding that it was not only reckless but also constituted an unacceptable interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs and democratic processes.
The Canadian court had made the declaration following a case involving a Nigerian, Mr. Douglas Egharevba, who arrived in Canada in September 2017 and applied for inland refugee status under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of Canada.
But the court in its ruling, made a sweeping accusation against two political parties in the country rather than focus on individuals, who were found wanting.
“The larger ramification of the decision is that every member of the mentioned political parties is a potential terrorist, and that is completely false and unacceptable.
“Nigeria is a sovereign nation with a robust legal and constitutional framework governing political activities. Our political parties operate within the ambit of the law and are integral to the country’s vibrant democracy. To associate legitimate political entities with terrorism without credible evidence is a grave misrepresentation that undermines Nigeria’s democratic institutions and could incite unnecessary tension.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria therefore, calls on the Canadian authorities to immediately retract this erroneous designation and refrain from actions that could be misconstrued as endorsing politically motivated narratives against Nigeria.
“Diplomatic channels remain open for constructive dialogue, and we urge the Government of Canada to engage with the relevant Nigerian institutions to rectify this error,” the statement read.
According to the Federal Government, Nigeria remains committed to the global fight against terrorism, and has made significant strides in countering extremist groups within its borders.
It, therefore, called on the international community to disregard this misguided ruling and reaffirm its confidence in Nigeria’s democratic governance and rule of law.
The government further urged Nigerian nationals to refrain from making unfounded allegations against the country under the pretext of seeking asylum or favours from foreign entities.
On its part, the APC in a statement on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Felix Morka, said the court never made any determination on the question of terrorism in its decision.
The party insisted that media reports that it was declared as a terrorist organisation by the Canadian court in the matter is patently erroneous, if not mischievous.
It urged its faithful, supporters and all Nigerians to disregard the reports as false and misleading.
The statement added: “The court did not make such a declaration, and could not have done so as that would be an unjustifiable overreach, and a major breach of fair hearing, among other due process rights, given that APC was not a party to the proceedings. Such a decision would also have been of absolute irrelevance as being made without jurisdiction, and of no extraterritorial applicability or significance.
“As reported, the declaration was allegedly made in the case of Douglas Egharevba and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, in which the Applicant (Douglas Egharevba) sought judicial review of a decision by the Canadian Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) which determined that the Applicant was inadmissible in Canada under its Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
“In a decision in the matter dated June 17, 2025, Judge Phuong T.V. Ngo dismissed the application for judicial review on the ground that the Applicant was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that the PDP was an organisation engaged in acts of subversion pursuant to paragraph 34(1)(b.1) of the IRPA making him inadmissible in Canada.
“In his analysis, the Judge stated, “As such, applying the reasonableness standard of review, I cannot find the IAD’s conclusion that the Elections in question constituted a democratic process or institution and that the PDP, its members and supporters engaged in subversive acts committed against the electoral process for the improper purpose of maintaining political power to be unreasonable.
“To be clear, the APC noted that the only reference to APC in the entire 16-page decision was in the introductory “Background”, Paragraph 4, where the court referenced a “Background Declaration Form in which the Applicant stated that “he was a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of Nigeria from December 1999 until December 2007, and a member of All Progressives Congress (APC) party of Nigeria from December 2007 until May 2017.
“For the record, APC was not in existence as of 2007. The Party was registered in 2013. The Applicant’s claim of membership of APC as of 2007 is evidently false as he could not have been a member of APC that didn’t exist at the time.”
