Canadian court declares PDP, APC as ‘terrorist organisations, Soneye, Okutepa clash
By Ishaya Ibrahim
A federal court in the Ottawa, Ontario district of Canada, has declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) as “terrorist organisations” who engage in “ballot box snatching, intimidation, and violence.”
The characterisation was contained in a judgment on an application for judicial review.
The previous ruling on a refugee status case was handed by the Immigration Appeal Division [IAD] on March 25, 2024.
The case stems from an application from Douglas Egharevba, the applicant who is Nigerian, and had appealed the decision not to grant him asylum on the grounds that he was a member of the PDP and APC at different times.
He also argued that he never participated in the violence and manipulation that mars elections in Nigeria, insisting he had never personally engaged in terrorism or subversion.
However, Justice Ngo, the judge, disagreed in a judgment delivered on June 17, 2025.
“The Applicant most likely downplayed his knowledge and the seriousness of political violence committed by the parties in which he was involved,” the judgment reads.
“The IAD reversed the ID’s decision and found that the evidence was established on reasonable grounds to believe that, pursuant to paragraph 34(1)(f) of the IRPA, the Applicant was a member of an organization that engages, has engaged, or will engage in acts of subversion against a democratic government, institution or process as they are understood in Canada.
“The Applicant is a citizen of Nigeria. In September 2017, the Applicant entered Canada and initiated an inland refugee claim.
“The Applicant submitted a Background Declaration Form stating that he was a member of the People’s Democratic Party [PDP] of Nigeria from December 1999 until December 2007, and a member of the All Progressives Congress [APC] party of Nigeria from December 2007 until May 2017.
“As a result of this information, he was referred to a Canadian Border Services Agency [CBSA] officer to determine whether he was admissible to Canada.
“In September 2018, the Applicant confirmed his membership in the PDP and APC in an interview with the CBSA officer.”
The court ruled that “the PDP were perpetrators of political violence, intimidation, and subversion and were protected as the PDP was the governing party from 1999 onwards”.
“The PDP conducted unlawful acts such as ballot-stuffing, ballot box snatching, intimidation, violence, and murder of opposition supporters and candidates in the Elections,” it added.
The court thereafter dismissed the application for a judicial review of the previous judgment as filed by Egharevba.
“Given the above, the Decision is not unreasonable and the application for judicial review must therefore be dismissed,” the judge ruled.
A former Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mr Olufemi Soneye decried the dangerous precedent the court verdict sets. He said it was a political earthquake with consequences that could reverberate far beyond Canada’s borders, warning that “if democratic nations don’t push back on this kind of overreach, they may one day find their own politics on trial in a foreign court.”
J.S. Okutepa, a foremost lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has thrown his full weight behind the Canadian court’s damning classification of APC and PDP as terrorist organisations.
Drawing from over three decades of experience in electoral law, Okutepa said the Canadian judge was absolutely correct in linking the behaviour of Nigerian politicians and their parties to acts that amount to political terrorism.
“Given my experience in electoral jurisprudence since 1992, I think the Canadian jurist was right. The way most Nigerian politicians behave is more of terrorism than democracy.”
He argued that Nigeria’s political parties have, over the years, perfected the art of subverting the will of the people through violent elections, manipulation of results, hijacking of state institutions, and weaponisation of state resources against citizens.
“The Nigerian brand of democracy is thuggery-prone,” he said. “Electoral robberies have replaced democracy. INEC’s declarations do not represent democratic truth — they legitimise political force.
“Internal democracy is almost non-existent. Parties routinely subvert the constitution and the Electoral Act to force their way into power.”
“For once, let our politicians admit that all is not well with our democracy. Those who have put us in this political quagmire should change their ways. We must restore politics of ideals, decency, and service to the people.”
