Appeal Court reverses deregistration of Peter Obi’s NDC in 2-1 judgement

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, has reversed the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, which set aside its earlier judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), pending a fresh hearing over a dispute involving its logo.

The Court of Appeal reached the decision in a 2-1 judgment, with Justice Mohammed Danjuma and Justice M.L. Hassan delivering the majority judgment against the judgment of Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court delivered in June.

The order comes after the same Lokoja court, in a judgment delivered on December 10, 2025, directed INEC to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress as a political party.

However, the Peace Movement Party (PMP) later approached the court, claiming ownership of the logo relied upon in securing the judgment and arguing that it was not joined as a necessary party.

The Lokoja High Court had ruled that the application filed by the PMP, an interested party in the suit, had merit, noting that the party had successfully established its legal interest in the case.

What the Appeal Court said

In the majority judgment, the Court held that the PMP is not a registered political party and, therefore, could not have been a necessary party to the dispute.

The Court held that the PMP is “not a registered political party recognized by law” and could not be joined as a necessary party.

The Court also held that, having not been a necessary party, the PMP operated as an “errand spoiler” and a “meddlesome interloper.”

The Court maintained that the trial court in Lokoja “wrongly and perversely declared” the PMP as a party affected by an earlier and subsisting court judgment recognizing the NDC.

The Court of Appeal upheld the appeal, holding that the trial court was wrong to assume jurisdiction and adding that “the lower court cannot sit on appeal over its decision.”

Dissenting judgment

But in his dissenting judgment, Justice Okon Abang disagreed with the leading judgment, maintaining that the appeal by the NDC “was dead on arrival” because the trial court did not decide that the PMP was not a registered political party under the Electoral Act.

He also added that the trial court did not decide that the PMP lacked locus standi (legal standing) to challenge the NDC in court.

• “Grounds of appeal cannot be raised on the imagination of a counsel,” Abang held.

Abang held that the NDC filed its appeal 53 days later, clearly outside the prescribed period.

He held the view that the provisions of the Electoral Act provide 14 days within which the NDC could challenge a judgment.

According to him, the suit leading to the December judgment of the Lokoja Division, which was later reversed, was “statute-barred” in view of the Electoral Act.

• “Statutory deadline cannot be extended or shifted. No shaking,” Abang held, adding that the trial court lacked jurisdiction ab initio to pass judgment recognizing the NDC’s registration.
• He said it was a “joke taken too far” for the Lokoja Division of the trial court to extend a statutory provision from 14 days to 53 days in respect of the NDC.

He observed that the NDC suppressed facts, deceitfully concealed the interest of PMP in respect of its logo while refusing to join PMP as a necessary party in the proceedings.

He agreed that PMP was a necessary party because it was the first to submit “the two finger victory sign logo” to INEC as part of the requirements for political party registration.

He then dismissed the appeal with N10 million cost.

Get up to speed

The instant judgment adds to a series of legal battles involving the NDC ahead of the 2027 general election.

• At the Lokoja Division, as cited by the Court of Appeal, the NDC legal team had urged the court to determine whether the trial court rightly exercised jurisdiction by granting an order setting aside its earlier judgment.
• The party also urged the court to hold that the trial court was wrong to consider the PMP a necessary party that had been denied a fair hearing.
• The NDC legal team also argued that the Lokoja Division was wrong to set aside a subsisting judgment in favour of the PMP, arguing that the latter had no legal capacity or locus standi, as it was not a registered political party, and that only a political party could sue.

The NDC urged the court to hold that the only available remedy for the PMP was to appeal the judgment and not file a motion asking the trial court to set aside its own judgment.

For the PMP, its legal team argued that the specific judgment made against it over the logo and other issues amounted to a denial of its right to a fair hearing, which was eventually quashed by the same court.

What you should know

Peter Obi, the former Governor of Anambra State and businessman, is the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and has remained one of the most vocal critics of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

• The recent judgment comes at a time when political parties are recalibrating their internal structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
• The majority judgment is binding unless it is set aside by the Supreme Court.

Earlier this year, INEC informed the National Assembly that it would require N873.78 billion to conduct the elections, in addition to N171 billion for its operational expenses in 2026 — a sharp increase from the N313.4 billion released for the 2023 polls.