Nigeria’s Court of Appeal overturns decision to deregister NDC — Premium Times Nigeria
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, Nigeria, has overturned a decision by the Federal High Court in Lokoja, which ordered Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) party.
Previous court decision
As Premium Times Nigeria reports, in June the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, overturned its December 2025 decision that had ordered INEC to register the NDC as a political party.
This followed an application by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which said it had not been joined in the case. Justice Isa Dashen granted the application, noting that all relevant parties must be heard before a decision on the merits is made.
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The court also declared the previous proceedings invalid and ordered the restoration of the situation that existed before the December 2025 decision until the substantive suit is concluded. The NDC subsequently appealed the Lokoja court’s ruling.
NDC’s position
NDC national leader Seriake Dickson, who is a sitting senator, announced the Court of Appeal’s decision in a post on X. According to him, the decision was delivered by Justice Mohammed Danjuma and read by Justice Sule Hassan.
Dickson said the appellate decision protected the NDC’s right to operate as a registered political party. He also said that the party’s registration remains valid and that the NDC and its candidates will participate in the 2027 elections and beyond.
