The Federal Government has broken its silence following a ruling by a Canadian Federal Court that classified two of Nigeria’s political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as terrorist organisations.
Dockaysworld reports that the government has described the decision as “reckless, baseless, and an unacceptable interference” in the nation’s internal affairs.
In a statement on Friday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa said the ruling, which arose from an immigration case involving Nigerian national Douglas Egharevba, ignored Nigeria’s constitutional safeguards for political parties. Egharevba, who arrived in Canada in 2017 seeking refugee status, faced allegations that Nigerian parties were linked to acts of violence. Justice Phuong Ngo’s judgment extended that claim to the APC and PDP in their entirety.
“The Court made a sweeping accusation against the entire membership of political parties that have produced democratically elected presidents, instead of focusing on individuals found guilty of offences,” the ministry said. “Such classification is false, unacceptable, and carries dangerous implications.”
While Nigeria’s electoral history has been marred by reports of vote manipulation involving both parties, including ballot box snatching, intimidation of voters, and falsification of results in certain states during past general elections, the government insisted that these acts were perpetrated by individuals, not sanctioned as party policy.
Election observer missions, including those from the EU and African Union, have in previous reports highlighted incidents of irregularities linked to agents of both APC and PDP, but stopped short of classifying the parties as violent organisations.
The Federal Government stressed that Nigeria’s political structure is governed by a robust legal framework and that all recognised political parties operate within the law. It warned that the Canadian ruling could fuel misinformation and distort Nigeria’s democratic image abroad.
Calling on Ottawa to retract the designation, the government urged Canadian authorities to avoid endorsing politically motivated narratives. It reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to fighting terrorism, cooperating on global security, and strengthening democratic processes.
“Nigeria remains committed to the global fight against terrorism and has made significant strides in countering extremism. The international community should disregard this misguided ruling,” the statement said.
