The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has overturned the Federal High Court judgment in Lokoja, Kogi State, which had set aside an earlier order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party.
The appellate court, in a split 2–1 decision delivered on Friday, set aside the judgment of Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court, thereby restoring the effect of the earlier judgment recognising the NDC’s registration.
Justices Mohammed Danjuma and Muslim Sule Hassan delivered the majority decision, while Justice Okon Abang dissented.
The dispute followed a December 10, 2025 judgment of the Federal High Court in Lokoja directing INEC to register the NDC as a political party.
The Peace Movement Party subsequently challenged the judgment, arguing that it had a legal interest in the matter and ought to have been joined in the original proceedings.
In June 2026, Justice Dashen set aside his earlier judgment after agreeing with the PMP that its absence from the proceedings amounted to a denial of fair hearing.
The judge held that the failure to join all necessary parties rendered the earlier proceedings constitutionally defective and ordered a fresh hearing.
The NDC appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal, arguing, among other things, that the Federal High Court could not sit on appeal over its own final judgment.
The appellate majority agreed with the NDC on the central issue, holding that the Lokoja court had erred by revisiting and setting aside its previous judgment. Channels Television reported that the majority described the lower court’s action as an abuse of judicial power and hierarchy.
Justice Abang, however, disagreed with the majority and upheld the position of the lower court. He held that the original action filed by the NDC was outside the applicable statutory period and that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it.
Abang also held that the Peace Movement Party had sufficient interest in the dispute over the NDC’s logo and should have been joined in the original proceedings.
Reacting to the ruling, Seriake Dickson, national leader of the NDC, said the decision meant the party’s registration “remains valid and subsisting”.
Dickson commended the judiciary and said the ruling had upheld the NDC’s right to participate in political activities as a registered party.
“We want to use this opportunity once again to commend the Nigerian judiciary, and in particular, Hon. Justice Danjuma and Hon. Justice Hassan, for upholding the integrity of the Nigerian judiciary and, by their decisions, expanding the sphere of multiparty democratic participation in Nigeria,” the statement reads.
“We have said repeatedly that the NDC was set up to expand the frontier of multiparty democracy in Nigeria. Justice Dashen’s judgment a few months ago was an unexpected assault on our constitutional right to participate and an attempt to narrow the democratic space.
“Happily, today, by the decision of the Court of Appeal, the Nigerian democratic space has been protected, and the NDC’s right to participate in all political activities as a registered political party has been upheld.”
The ruling comes ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the NDC having already nominated candidates for the elections.