A Canadian tribunal sitting in Ottawa, Ontario, has ruled that Nigeria’s two major political parties — the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) — can be seen as “terrorist organisations” because of their involvement in election-related violence, intimidation, and ballot box snatching.
The ruling came during a case involving Douglas Egharevba, a Nigerian citizen who had asked Canada for refugee status.
How the Case Began
- Egharevba entered Canada in September 2017 and applied for asylum.
- In his application, he admitted he had been a member of the PDP between 1999 and 2007, and later a member of the APC from 2007 until 2017.
- Based on this, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) investigated whether he was admissible to Canada.
In January 2019, an immigration officer said he was inadmissible under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) because of his membership in organisations accused of violence and subversion of democracy.
The Legal Battle
- The Immigration Division (ID) first ruled against Egharevba.
- However, he appealed to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD), which in March 2024 also refused to grant him asylum.
- Egharevba then applied for a judicial review, insisting he never personally took part in violence or election malpractice.
But on June 17, 2025, Judge Phuong Ngo dismissed his appeal.
Why the Court Called PDP and APC “Terrorist Organisations”
The judge ruled that:
- There were reasonable grounds to believe both parties had engaged in political violence.
- The PDP, which ruled Nigeria from 1999, carried out ballot stuffing, ballot box snatching, intimidation, and even killings of opposition supporters.
- The APC was also linked with similar acts of electoral violence.
- Although Egharevba said he never engaged in terrorism, the court believed he “downplayed his knowledge” of the violent actions of the parties he belonged to.
The tribunal concluded that Egharevba’s application lacked merit. His request for judicial review was dismissed, meaning he will not be granted refugee status in Canada.
The judgment has since attracted attention because of the strong language used in describing Nigeria’s two biggest political parties.
