Breaking News: HOW LOKOJA COURT SETS ASIDE NDC REGISTRATION RULING

 

By Destiny Obinna

The Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, has set aside its earlier judgement that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party.

The decision followed an application brought by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which argued that it should have been included in the original case because its interests were affected.

Delivering the ruling on Friday, Justice Isah Dashen held that the earlier judgement could not stand because not all parties connected to the matter were heard before the decision was made.

The judge said the omission made the process defective and ordered that all parties return to the position they were in before the court’s December 10, 2025 judgement.

Justice Dashen also noted that some relevant facts were not presented during the earlier proceedings, adding that this influenced the court’s decision to nullify the judgement.

The court directed that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with INEC, the PMP and the NDC all included in the case.

Speaking after the ruling, counsel to the applicant, Chikezie Ekeocha, said the PMP approached the court after discovering that the NDC’s registration was linked to a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the case began.

According to him, the implication of the ruling is that actions already taken by INEC based on the now vacated judgement, including recognition of the NDC, issuance of its registration certificate and related electoral records will no longer stand pending the final outcome of the suit.

He, however, stressed that the dispute itself has not been concluded, explaining that the court only cancelled the earlier judgement and ordered a fresh hearing so all affected parties can be heard.

The court, in its judgement, set aside the earlier ruling directing INEC to register the NDC, ordered parties to return to their position before the December 10, 2025 judgement and directed that INEC, the PMP and the NDC be joined in the substantive suit.