Renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has called on Nigeria’s two major political parties—the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—to provide evidence that they are not terrorist organisations, following a damning ruling by a Canadian Federal Court.
The Canadian court, presided over by Justice Phuong Ngo, made the declaration while rejecting an asylum appeal filed by Nigerian national Douglas Egharevba. In the ruling, Justice Ngo stated that the APC and PDP had engaged in actions tantamount to terrorism under Canadian law, citing their alleged use of violence, coercion, and subversion of democratic institutions in the pursuit of political power.
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In a statement issued on Monday, Mr Falana urged both parties to address the grave concerns raised by the court, rather than dismissing the judge’s pronouncements as either ignorant or mischievous.
He stressed that the implications of the ruling extend beyond symbolic judicial recognition, noting that Nigeria’s **Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022** defines terrorism to include acts of violence, intimidation, and coercion driven by political or ideological motives—behaviour which, he argued, has increasingly characterised electoral processes in Nigeria.
“It is public knowledge that both APC and PDP have a history of election rigging and the announcement of falsified results, often with the backing of armed thugs, police officers, and military personnel,” Falana stated. “Electoral violence, killings, and attacks on voters have become commonplace, yet perpetrators are rarely held accountable.”
He criticised the immediate responses issued by both parties—APC branding the judge as “ignorant” and the PDP labelling the decision “mischievous”—arguing that such reactions fail to engage with the substantive issues raised by the Canadian court.
“Rather than hurling abuse at the Canadian judge, the APC and PDP should take swift legal steps to demonstrate that they are not, in fact, terrorist organisations,” he said.
Mr Falana further called on the Federal Government to promptly instruct immigration lawyers to intervene in the matter, warning that the ruling could result in visa denials or deportations for Nigerians abroad who are affiliated with either party.
“If this ruling is recognised in jurisdictions such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and others, members of the APC and PDP could have their visas revoked or face deportation,” he cautioned.
