{"id":129547,"date":"2026-09-19T10:15:48","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T09:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=129547"},"modified":"2026-09-19T10:15:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T09:15:48","slug":"appeal-court-upholds-ndc-registration-voids-high-court-judgment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/appeal-court-upholds-ndc-registration-voids-high-court-judgment\/","title":{"rendered":"Appeal Court Upholds NDC Registration, Voids High Court Judgment"},"content":{"rendered":"

By John Azu<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), setting aside the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lokoja which had nullified the party’s registration.<\/p>\n

In a split judgment by a two-member majority on Friday, the appellate court faulted the decision of the Federal High Court, delivered by Justice Isah Dashen, which purported to reverse the registration of the NDC.<\/p>\n

In the lead judgment delivered by the presiding Justice, Mohammed Danjuma, and read by Justice Hassan, the Court of Appeal held that the appeal was meritorious.<\/p>\n

The appellate court further held that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction and constitutional power to revisit or reverse its earlier judgment through a motion.<\/p>\n

The dispute followed a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court in Lokoja on June 27 in suit No. FHC\/LKJ\/CS\/49\/2025.<\/p>\n

In the judgment, Justice Dashen had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC and withdrew the approval previously granted by the commission on December 10, 2025, for the registration of the party.<\/p>\n

The court held that all relevant parties ought to have been heard before any substantive decision could be made in the matter.<\/p>\n

Justice Dashen subsequently admitted the Peoples Mandate Party (PMP) as a necessary party to the suit, holding that its counsel had demonstrated a substantial interest in the matter.<\/p>\n

The judge had ruled that the earlier judgment was constitutionally defective because it was delivered without hearing all interested parties, declaring that the omission rendered the process null and void.<\/p>\n

He also ordered that the status quo existing before the December 2025 judgment be restored pending the determination of the substantive suit.<\/p>\n

Justice Dashen further held that certain material facts had been suppressed during the earlier proceedings, which, in his view, justified setting aside the judgment.<\/p>\n

Consequently, he ordered that the substantive suit commence afresh, with INEC, PMP and the NDC joined as parties.<\/p>\n

However, the Court of Appeal has now overturned that decision, effectively upholding the NDC’s registration.<\/p>\n

Reacting to the appellate court’s judgment, the National Leader of the NDC, Senator Seriake Dickson, commended the judiciary, particularly Justices Danjuma and Hassan, for what he described as upholding the integrity of the judiciary and expanding the space for multiparty democratic participation in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have said repeatedly that the NDC was set up to expand the frontier of multiparty democracy in Nigeria. Justice Dashen\u2019s judgment a few months ago was an unexpected assault on our constitutional right to participate and an attempt to narrow the democratic space,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dickson said the Court of Appeal’s decision had restored the party’s right to participate in political activities as a registered political party.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappily, today, by the decision of the Court of Appeal, the Nigerian democratic space has been protected, and the NDC\u2019s right to participate in all political activities as a registered political party has been upheld,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He congratulated members and candidates of the party and thanked Nigerians for their support.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the unexpected judgment of the Lokoja Federal High Court was delivered, we were bombarded with several calls for sympathy, support and prayers. Today, our collective prayers have been answered,\u201d Dickson said.<\/p>\n

He declared that the NDC’s registration remained valid and said the party and its candidates would participate in the 2027 elections and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dickson urged party members to shift their attention to the campaigns and preparations for the 2027 elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone should now focus on the campaigns, prepare for the elections, and focus on the task ahead to face the APC and defeat them at the polls,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also warned against any attempt to influence the judiciary through what he described as arm-twisting, inducement or intimidation.<\/p>\n

\u201cA resort to arm-twisting, inducing or intimidating the judiciary will not work. We remain confident in the strength of our message, the commitment of our members, the viability of our candidates, and the support of Nigerians,\u201d Dickson said.<\/p>\n

He added that the struggle for multiparty democracy in Nigeria would continue, saying the NDC remained committed to its political objectives ahead of the 2027 elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By John Azu The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), setting aside the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lokoja…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":129548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAppeal Court Upholds NDC Registration, Voids High Court Judgment - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/appeal-court-upholds-ndc-registration-voids-high-court-judgment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Appeal Court Upholds NDC Registration, Voids High Court Judgment - 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