A Canadian Federal Court has ruled that Nigeria’s two biggest political parties — the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — are terrorist organisations under Canada’s immigration laws.
The court therefore rejected an asylum application filed by Douglas Egharevba, a Nigerian politician who was once a member of both parties.
Justice Phuong Ngo delivered the judgment on June 17, 2025, upholding an earlier decision by Canada’s Immigration Appeal Division (IAD), which said Mr Egharevba was not eligible to remain in Canada because of his political history.
“The conduct of individuals who are members of the PDP, including high-ranking officials, is too widespread and persistent over too great a period of time to dissociate the leadership of the party from their actions,” Justice Ngo stated.
Mr Egharevba joined the PDP in 1999 and later moved to the APC in 2007, remaining there until 2017. He claimed he never took part in any violence or wrongdoing, but Canadian authorities argued that both parties had long been involved in election-related violence, intimidation, and acts that subverted democracy.
According to court documents, he entered Canada in September 2017 and admitted his political affiliations. Canadian immigration officials flagged his case due to intelligence reports linking the parties to politically motivated killings and electoral malpractice.
The court’s decision was based mainly on the PDP’s violent record during the 2003 and 2004 elections under former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The PDP was accused of ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, and the killing of opposition candidates — crimes the leadership allegedly ignored while benefiting politically.
Justice Ngo ruled that such behaviours met Canada’s legal definition of terrorism and subversion.
“An admission of membership in an organisation is sufficient… regardless of the nature, frequency, duration or degree of involvement,” the judge wrote.
Mr Egharevba argued that violence was common across all Nigerian political parties and that the country’s elections were not truly democratic, so calling PDP activities “subversion” was unfair.
However, Justice Ngo rejected that position, declaring that even flawed elections in Nigeria are still a democratic process under Canadian law, and undermining them is illegal.
This decision marks one of the strongest statements yet from a foreign court equating Nigeria’s ruling and former ruling parties with terrorist organisations. It also means that Nigerians who were members of such parties could be denied entry to Canada even if they have no criminal record.
Mr Egharevba’s asylum case has now been dismissed, and he is expected to face deportation from Canada.