Opposition rocked: Court order deregistering NDC sparks fierce backlash, Peter Obi vows defiance

A Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, presided over by Justice Isah Dashen, has set aside its December 10, 2025, judgment which had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize and register the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party. This ruling, delivered on Friday, effectively withdrew the legal recognition earlier granted to the party, placing the fate of all candidates for the 2027 general elections nominated on the NDC platform in the balance. The court upheld an application by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which argued it was a necessary party to the original suit and that its exclusion amounted to a denial of fair hearing, rendering the previous judgment invalid. Justice Dashen further held that some material facts were not brought before the court during the earlier proceedings, contributing to the decision to set aside the judgment. The court ordered that parties return to their position before the December 10, 2025 judgment, pending a fresh determination of the substantive case, with INEC, PMP, and NDC to be joined as parties.

Reacting to the judgment, the NDC and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, along with the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR), described it as a temporary legal hurdle, not the end of a growing national movement for political change. NDC National Chairman, Sen. Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, and National Secretary, Ikenna Morgan Enekweizu, vowed to appeal the order at the Court of Appeal. Zuwoghe assured the public and party candidates that the NDC had not been deregistered and was still on course. The party highlighted its extensive political activities since registration, including member registration, congresses from ward to national levels, conventions, and concluded primaries for all offices following INEC’s timetable, as well as participation in bye-elections in Nasarawa and Enugu states. NDC expressed surprise at the court's decision, questioning the locus standi of PMP—an unregistered association which they claim is not seeking registration currently—and challenging the court’s jurisdiction to revisit a final judgment, arguing it had become functus officio. The NDC condemned what it described as efforts to shrink the democratic space and stifle opposition, asserting that the 90-day statutory window to challenge their registration had long expired.

Peter Obi, the NDC presidential candidate, expressed disappointment, calling the ruling a “serious setback for Nigerian democracy.” He argued that democracy cannot thrive where institutions lose their independence and credibility, echoing his past condemnations of similar rulings affecting other parties. Obi emphasized that the movement for change transcends the fate of any single political platform, stating that millions of Nigerians had invested their hopes in national transformation, not merely a political certificate. The POMR, through its spokesman Idris Zekeri Jnr., clarified that it was a procedural setback, not a political knockout blow, and affirmed that the movement’s legal team was preparing immediate appellate action.

The ruling also drew condemnation from other political figures and parties. Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), described the development as a “coordinated assault on democracy” and Nigerians' constitutional right to political participation, accusing the President Bola Tinubu administration of political repression aimed at weakening opposition. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) condemned the ruling as a “major setback for Nigeria’s democracy and multiparty system” and an “economic crime” against Nigerians who had invested resources in the NDC. The PDP further alleged that the situation fits into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government’s playbook to undermine genuine opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.

The NDC Caucus in the House of Representatives condemned the judgment as a “judicial coup” and an attempt to undermine Nigeria’s democratic system, accusing the APC of orchestrating judicial harassment to weaken opposition parties. They expressed concerns about the timing of the judgment, noting it coincided with INEC's commencement of a critical phase for the 2027 elections by opening its portal for candidate nominations, suggesting it was a calculated and deliberate move to weaken opposition participation. The caucus vowed to challenge the judgment through all available legal channels, including up to the Supreme Court, and warned that allowing the order to stand could trigger a major political crisis and erode public trust in the judiciary and INEC.

The legal landscape leading up to the 2027 elections has been marked by conflicting judicial decisions. Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) recently called for an investigation by the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) into such conflicting court rulings, warning that they could sabotage the 2027 general elections. He cited instances where Federal High Court judges issued contradictory rulings on INEC’s powers regarding election timelines, recalling the annulment of INEC's timeline for party primaries and candidate nominations by one judge, while another affirmed INEC's constitutional authority to fix such timelines. Falana drew parallels to the 1993 crisis, cautioning that failure to address these inconsistencies could lead to a similar destabilization of the electoral process. This recent ruling against NDC occurs shortly after the Court of Appeal in Abuja intervened to stay the execution of a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of five other political parties (ADC, APP, AA, AP, and ZLP), reprimanding the lower court for judicial impertinence.