Canadian authorities cited intelligence linking both parties to electoral violence, killings and subversion of democracy.
The Federal Court of Canada has upheld a ruling designating Nigeria’s two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as terrorist organisations, resulting in the denial of asylum to former member Douglas Egharevba.
In a June 17, 2025, judgment, Justice Phuong Ngo dismissed Egharevba’s appeal after the Immigration Appeal Division found him inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Canadian authorities cited intelligence linking both parties to electoral violence, killings and subversion of democracy.
Egharevba, a PDP member from 1999 to 2007 and APC member until 2017, was flagged for his affiliations. The tribunal’s decision relied heavily on alleged PDP misconduct during the 2003 and 2004 elections, including ballot stuffing and voter intimidation.
Justice Ngo ruled that membership in such organisations, even without personal involvement in violence, meets IRPA’s inadmissibility threshold. Deportation proceedings are now expected to follow.