INEC Reacts to Court Judgment on NDC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will not take any position on the recent Federal High Court judgment concerning the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) until it receives and studies the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the ruling.

The commission's Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Chairman, Mr Adedayo Oketola, said on Saturday that although INEC was aware of media reports on the judgment delivered by the Federal High Court in Lokoja, it would await the official court documents before determining its next line of action.

According to him, the commission's legal department will examine the judgment upon receipt of the CTC and advise the commission accordingly.

He said INEC remained committed to acting strictly within the law and in compliance with the court's directives, urging the public to await its formal position after the legal review.

The court, presided over by Justice Isah Dashen, reportedly set aside an earlier judgment delivered on Dec. 10, 2025, which had directed INEC to register the NDC as a political party.

The judge held that the interests of the Peace Movement Party (PMP) were affected because it was not joined in the original suit despite laying claim to the logo relied upon in obtaining the registration order.

The court consequently restored all parties to their positions before the December 2025 judgment and ordered that the substantive suit be heard afresh with all necessary parties joined.

Meanwhile, the NDC has rejected the judgment and announced plans to challenge it at the Court of Appeal.

The party's National Chairman, Sen. Moses Cleopas, maintained that the ruling did not amount to the deregistration of the party and argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to reopen a matter on which it had previously delivered a final judgment.

The development has attracted reactions from opposition politicians, including the NDC's presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the party's National Leader, Sen. Henry Seriake Dickson, and other stakeholders, who described the ruling as a setback for Nigeria's multiparty democratic system and vowed to pursue all available legal remedies.

INEC, however, maintained that it would refrain from commenting on the merits of the judgment until its legal department receives and reviews the Certified True Copy of the court's decision before advising the commission on the appropriate course of action.