Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has fiercely condemned a Canadian court ruling that classified it and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as terrorist organisations. The party described the decision as “jaundiced” and without jurisdiction over Nigeria’s internal political structure.
The controversial judgment, handed down on June 17, 2025, by Justice Phuong Ngo of the Federal Court of Canada, upheld an earlier Immigration Appeal Division ruling against Nigerian asylum seeker Douglas Egharevba. Egharevba’s long-standing affiliations with the PDP (1999–2007) and APC (2007–2017) were deemed sufficient to bar his asylum under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
Canadian authorities argued that the two parties were involved in systemic electoral malpractice, political violence, and even killings, citing incidents during the 2003 and 2004 elections. Justice Ngo affirmed that “mere membership” in an organisation linked to terrorism or democratic subversion could make a person inadmissible to Canada, regardless of direct involvement.
In response, APC National Secretary Senator Ajibola Bashiru accused the judge of overreach. “The court has no jurisdiction to determine the status of a Nigerian recognised political party not to talk of declaring it as a terrorist organization… The so-called judgment was obviously delivered from a jaundiced perspective,” Bashiru said, adding that the party would not “seek legitimacy from a foreign bench and under a law that has no extra territorial application.”
The PDP also rejected the ruling, calling it “misinformed, biased, and lacking evidence.” Deputy National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor said, “There’s nothing on text to show that even the malfunctioning APC is a terrorist organisation or the PDP, which is a credible institution.”
Former NNPC spokesman Olufemi Soneye warned that the ruling could embolden other countries to scrutinise Nigerian politics in ways that might undermine civil liberties and diplomatic relations.