Appeal Court Restores NDC Registration, Overturns Lokoja High Court Ruling

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has overturned a Federal High Court judgment in Lokoja that had invalidated the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party.

The appellate court delivered its decision on Friday, September 18, 2026, in a case arising from the June ruling of the Federal High Court, Lokoja, which had set aside an earlier judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC.

Justice Isah Dashen had previously ruled that the December 10, 2025 judgment directing INEC to register the NDC was delivered without hearing all parties with a legal interest in the matter.

The decision followed an application by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which argued that it had sufficient legal interest in the case and ought to have been joined before the earlier judgment was delivered.

Justice Dashen accepted the argument and held that the failure to include the PMP affected the validity of the proceedings.

The NDC subsequently challenged the Federal High Court’s decision at the Court of Appeal. The appellate court has now set aside the Lokoja judgment and restored the legal position that recognised the party’s registration.

Dickson Welcomes Court Decision

Reacting to the judgment, Seriake Dickson, national leader of the NDC, said the ruling means the party’s registration “remains valid and subsisting”.

Dickson also said the party would now turn its attention to the 2027 general elections and its political contest with the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement posted on his X handle, he said: “We want to use this opportunity once again to commend the Nigerian judiciary, and in particular, Hon. Justice Danjuma and Hon. Justice Hassan, for upholding the integrity of the Nigerian judiciary and, by their decisions, expanding the sphere of multiparty democratic participation in Nigeria,” the statement reads.


He added: “We have said repeatedly that the NDC was set up to expand the frontier of multiparty democracy in Nigeria. Justice Dashen’s judgment a few months ago was an unexpected assault on our constitutional right to participate and an attempt to narrow the democratic space.


“Happily, today, by the decision of the Court of Appeal, the Nigerian democratic space has been protected, and the NDC’s right to participate in all political activities as a registered political party has been upheld.”


The Court of Appeal ruling comes as political parties prepare for the 2027 general elections. Reports on the judgment indicate that the appellate court’s majority decision overturned the Lokoja ruling, while a dissenting view was also recorded by a member of the panel.