Canadian Court Calls Nigeria’s APC, PDP Terrorist Organisations, Denies Asylum to Former Party Member

Source: Peoples Gazette

A Canadian Federal Court has upheld a landmark immigration tribunal ruling declaring Nigeria’s two dominant political parties — the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — as terrorist organisations under Canadian law.

In a June 17, 2025 judgment obtained by Peoples Gazette, Justice Phuong Ngo dismissed the asylum appeal of Douglas Egharevba, a former member of both parties, over his decade-long affiliation with them.

Canada’s Minister of Public Safety had argued that the PDP and APC were deeply involved in political violence, subversion of democracy, and electoral bloodshed that inflicted terror on Nigerians.

Mr. Egharevba joined the PDP in 1999 before defecting to the APC in 2007, remaining until 2017.

He maintained that he never engaged in violence, but Justice Ngo ruled that the widespread and persistent conduct of party members made it impossible to dissociate the leadership from such acts.

Court documents show Mr. Egharevba entered Canada in 2017 and disclosed his political history to border authorities, prompting scrutiny over intelligence reports linking both parties to electoral misconduct and killings.

The Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) focused on the PDP’s record during the 2003 state and 2004 local polls, when it controlled most of Nigeria under President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice-President Atiku Abubakar. Evidence showed PDP loyalists engaged in ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, and the killing of opponents, with party leaders taking no action to stop it.

Under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), such acts met the definition of subverting a democratic process — even without the use of force — and mere membership during these periods was enough to trigger inadmissibility.

Justice Ngo dismissed arguments that all Nigerian parties engaged in violence, noting that even flawed elections count as democratic processes under Canadian law.

The decision effectively ends Mr. Egharevba’s asylum bid, paving the way for deportation. It also stands as one of the clearest foreign judicial pronouncements equating Nigeria’s ruling and former ruling parties with terrorist entities under international law.