Nigeria’s political landscape was thrown into shock after a Canadian court upheld a controversial ruling classifying the nation’s two dominant political parties — the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) — as terrorist organisations.
The PDP, in a fiery response, dismissed the verdict as “misinformed, biased, and without a shred of credible evidence.” The party urged that the judgment be thrown out, warning it could set a dangerous precedent for international relations and democracy.
Former Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd, Olufemi Soneye, also raised the alarm, describing the ruling as a “political earthquake” with the potential to reverberate far beyond Canada’s borders. “If democratic nations don’t push back on this kind of overreach,” he warned, “one day their own politics could be on trial in a foreign court.”
The legal storm began when the Federal Court of Canada, in a June 17, 2025 judgment, dismissed the asylum plea of Douglas Egharevba — a former PDP and APC member — ruling him inadmissible under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Court records showed Egharevba’s PDP membership spanned from 1999 to 2007 before he crossed over to the APC until 2017. Canadian authorities argued that both parties were linked to political violence, subversion of democracy, and electoral bloodshed.
The Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) based much of its decision on events from Nigeria’s 2003 state elections and 2004 local government polls, citing allegations of ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, and targeted killings by the PDP at the time.
But PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, hit back hard:
“Nigeria and Canada are both democracies. Freedom of speech is important, but it must come with caution. There is no evidence — none — that the PDP or even the malfunctioning APC is a terrorist organisation. If there are individuals with terrorist ties, like we’ve seen with certain members of the APC in the past, then let those people be held accountable. But to brand an entire political party as terrorists? That’s unacceptable.”
Soneye echoed the sentiment, warning of real-world consequences for Nigerians abroad. “This means heightened scrutiny, visa denials, and asylum rejections for anyone ever linked to these parties — not just in Canada, but possibly in other countries that might follow suit,” he said.
Beyond personal impact, he cautioned, lies a bigger threat: “Labeling legitimate political parties as terrorist organisations undermines democracy itself. It blurs the line between dissent and danger, governance and extremism. And once that label sticks, it can be used to silence opposition, suppress participation, and erode civil liberties — both at home and on the world stage.”
