The House of Representatives caucus of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has sharply condemned a federal High Court ruling in Lokoja that purported to de-register the party and strip it of legal status, calling the decision “judicial banditry” and an “attempted coup against democracy.”
The caucus in a press statement signed by its leader, Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, said the order is not merely an error of law but a deliberate assault on democratic norms and part of a calculated pattern of judicial harassment.
It pointed to a similar controversial Abuja judgment that tried to deregister five parties before the Court of Appeal overturned that decision, and warned that the Lokoja ruling signals a revived campaign to silence opposition by judicial means.
The statement reads: “For us and many Nigerians, this is not an error of law. It is an assault on democracy. This is a calculated pattern of judicial harassment. Nigerians have seen this script before.
“An earlier controversial judgment out of Abuja sought to de-register five political parties by fiat. But the Court of Appeal promptly reversed that recklessness, affirming that no court can extinguish a political party through judicial shortcuts.
“Many Nigerians believed at the time that such an ugly chapter was closed. Sadly, today’s ruling confirms a renewed campaign to suffocate opposition by other means.
“The Facts Are Indisputiable:
“1. The 90-day statutory window to challenge our party's registration closed long ago. And strangely, INEC, the only constitutionally empowered body for party registration, was not the appellant in today's curious judgment. A court can not sit in judgment over its own earlier judgment, and one in which the principal party in the matter, INEC itself, is not contesting.
“2. We consider this outrageous development as 'Forum Shopping'. This was not an appeal. The matter was surreptitiously returned to the same court that earlier ordered INEC to register the NDC. That is not jurisprudence; rather, it is lawfare — the weaponization of the judiciary against political opponents.
“3. The timing apparently betrays the intent. The order was issued on the very day INEC was expected to open its portal and issue access codes for political parties to upload candidates for the 2027 elections. To target the NDC at the precise moment the electoral process entered this critical phase is not coincidental. It is calculated, deliberate, and despicable.
“We make bold to say that this Is all about 2027, not the law. And never justice.
“We hold the ruling APC directly responsible for this anti-democratic plot. The objective is clear: to muscle the opposition out of the 2027 elections and reduce Nigeria’s democracy to a coronation for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We ask the APC: What are you afraid of?
“If you believe in your record, come to the ballot. Why are you afraid of competition? Why has the courtroom replaced the campaign trail?
“Let it be clear: Nigeria is not a one-party state. 2027 will not be a coronation.
“We will not yield. The NDC will not be de-registered by judicial decree. We will not be silenced. We will pursue this illegality through every available legal remedy, right up to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, if that is what is required to return to the path of sanity. We trust that the judiciary will rise above partisan pressure and deploy its liberating powers to defend the Constitution.
“If this order stands, it will trigger a major political crisis and destroy public confidence in the judiciary and INEC. That is a price Nigeria cannot pay.
“To all NDC members across the country: Stay calm. Stay law-abiding. Stay resolute. The NDC was born in struggle. No court order can kill that resolve.”
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