Appeal Court reinstates NDC party registration ahead of 2027 elections

In a major legal victory for Nigeria’s opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside a High Court judgment that nullified the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a recognized political party.

In a split two-to-one decision delivered by a three-member appellate panel, the court declared that the Federal High Court in Lokoja was in error and engaged in an “abuse of power” by sitting on appeal over its own previous judgment.

The verdict fully validates the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) recognition of the NDC, securing the legal status of the opposition party, which has Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso as its flag bearers.

The legal tussle began after Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court in Lokoja issued a ruling setting aside his own December 10, 2025 judgment—which had initially ordered INEC to register the NDC.

The High Court’s reversal came after an association under the aegis of the Peace Movement Party (PMP) filed a post-judgment motion claiming ownership of the party’s logo and alleging it was omitted from the original suit. Justice Dashen agreed and ordered a fresh hearing, effectively voiding the NDC’s legal existence.

However, the appellate court’s majority opinion, authored by Justice Mohammed Danjuma and supported by Justice Muslim Sule Hassan, held that the lower court acted outside its legal boundaries.

“The lower court engaged in an abuse of power and of the judicial hierarchy when it sat on appeal over its own previous judgment delivered on December 10, 2025,” the appellate panel held in its majority judgment, emphasizing that a trial court lacks jurisdiction to overturn its own final decisions via a post-judgment motion.

The justices also dismissed the PMP’s claims regarding the NDC’s logo, allowing the NDC’s appeal in its entirety and confirming that the party’s registration remains valid.

In a statement published by Seriake Dickson, the national leader of the NDC on his X account,  the appeal court’s judgement means that the party’s registration “remains valid and subsisting”.

“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 appellate judgment was not unanimous. Dissenting from the majority, Justice Okon Abang argued that the High Court acted within the tenets of natural justice and fair hearing when it agreed to hear the PMP.

“I find no reason to fault the trial court, which acted in accordance with the principles of justice and fair hearing by seeking to join all necessary parties to the dispute,” Justice Abang noted in his minority opinion upholding the deregistration.