Nigeria’s two dominant political parties — the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress — have condemned a ruling by a Federal Court of Canada classifying both as terrorist organisations.
The June 17, 2025 judgment by Justice Phuong Ngo upheld an earlier decision of the Immigration Appeal Division denying asylum to Nigerian national Douglas Egharevba over his decade-long affiliation with the PDP and APC, recent media reports indicated.
‘No Jurisdiction, No Legitimacy from a Foreign Bench’ – APC
Similarly, the APC dismissed the ruling as baseless, with its National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, describing the presiding judge as “an ignoramus” and insisting the party was “a credible democratic political organization” that “does not seek legitimacy from a foreign bench and under a law that has no extra territorial application.”
Bashiru, according to The Nations, argued, “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 and within the narrow confines of determining eligibility for asylum by an applicant.”
He further lamented: “It is unfortunate that some desperate and unpatriotic Nigerians will allow the name of the country to be brought to unpalatable commentary by racist judges on account of self contrived application for asylum.”
Both parties have urged Canadian authorities to focus on individual accountability rather than sweeping classifications that, in their view, threaten diplomatic relations and risk distorting Nigeria’s democratic image abroad.