Court of Appeal Restores NDC’s Registration in 2-1 Ruling, Reversing Lokoja Deregistration Order
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has nullified a Federal High Court judgment that had ordered the deregistration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), the opposition party under which Peter Obi is contesting the 2027 presidential election, restoring the party’s registration in a split 2-1 ruling delivered on Friday, September 18, 2026.
The appellate panel’s majority judgment, delivered by Justice Mohammed Danjuma and read by Justice M.L. Hassan, held that the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja had wrongly and perversely reopened and effectively sat in appeal over its own earlier, final judgment, describing the move as an abuse of judicial power. The court found that the Lokoja court had no jurisdiction to reconsider a decision it had already delivered, stressing that a lower court cannot sit in appeal over its own ruling. The majority also rejected the argument that the Peace Movement Party’s (PMP) absence from the original proceedings justified reversing the earlier judgment.
The dispute traces back to a Federal High Court judgment delivered on December 10, 2025, which had directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. That registration was thrown into doubt on June 26, 2026, when the same Lokoja court, presided over by Justice Isah Dashen, set aside its own earlier judgment following an application from the Peace Movement Party, which claimed ownership of a logo relied upon in securing the NDC’s registration and argued it had not been made a party to the original suit. Justice Dashen’s ruling had directed that the case return to the position it occupied before the December 2025 judgment, effectively nullifying the NDC’s registration pending a fresh hearing.
The NDC swiftly appealed that decision, and the Court of Appeal moved within a day of the Lokoja ruling to suspend it, temporarily halting the deregistration while the appeal was determined. Friday’s judgment brings that process to a close in the party’s favour, with the appellate court setting aside Justice Dashen’s June ruling entirely.
Not all three judges agreed with the outcome. In a dissenting judgment, Justice Okon Abang said he would have upheld the deregistration, maintaining that the NDC’s appeal was, in his words, “dead on arrival,” since the trial court had not specifically decided that the Peace Movement Party lacked legal standing to challenge the NDC in court, nor that it was not itself a registered political party under the Electoral Act. He argued the Lokoja court had acted in line with the tenets of justice and fair hearing.
Reacting to the ruling, NDC National Leader Senator Seriake Henry Dickson described the earlier deregistration judgment as an unexpected assault on the party’s constitutional right to participate in Nigeria’s democratic process, and said Friday’s decision had protected the country’s democratic space. “The NDC continues to exist. Our registration remains valid and subsisting, and we and all our candidates will participate in all elections in 2027 and beyond, by the grace of God,” he said, while also warning against what he described as attempts to arm-twist or intimidate the judiciary. He urged party members to now shift their focus fully toward campaigning ahead of the 2027 elections.
Peter Obi was formally ratified as the NDC’s presidential candidate on May 29, 2026. With the Court of Appeal’s ruling now restoring the party’s legal standing, attention turns to the formal implementation of the judgment by INEC and whether the Peace Movement Party or other affected parties will pursue any further legal challenge, as the NDC moves to resume full participation in preparations for next year’s general election.
About the Author
