The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has reportedly overturned the June 26, 2026 judgment of the Federal High Court which effectively nullified the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
The two-member majority of the appellate panel, in a ruling delivered on Friday, held that the Federal High Court had erred in revisiting its earlier judgment of December 10, 2025, which had directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party.
The majority ruling reportedly described the lower court’s action as an abuse of judicial power, holding that the Federal High Court was wrong to sit in judgment over its own earlier decision through the application that resulted in the June 26 ruling.
The development represents a major turn in the legal battle over the status of the NDC, which has been at the centre of a dispute involving its registration, the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Peace Movement Party (PMP).
The original dispute dates back to December 10, 2025, when the Federal High Court in Lokoja ordered INEC to register the NDC as a political party. INEC subsequently recognised the party, but the registration was challenged by the PMP over issues surrounding the party’s logo and its alleged prior interest in the symbol.
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👉 JOIN WHATSAPP CHANNELOn June 26, 2026, Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court set aside his earlier judgment after an application by the PMP, holding that the association’s interests had been affected without it being joined in the original proceedings. The court consequently ordered the matter to return to its pre-December 2025 position pending a fresh determination.
The Court of Appeal’s reported Friday decision has now set aside that June judgment, with the majority rejecting the basis upon which the Federal High Court revisited its earlier decision.
The appellate court also dismissed the adversarial claims surrounding the NDC’s use of a logo alleged to belong to the Peace Movement Party, an issue that had featured prominently in Justice Dashen’s June ruling.
The decision was, however, not unanimous. Justice Okon Abang reportedly dissented from the majority judgment, indicating that he would have upheld the Federal High Court’s decision that effectively nullified the NDC’s registration.
The latest ruling comes against the backdrop of the NDC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections and the broader legal disputes surrounding political parties ahead of the polls.
The NDC is the political platform on which Peter Obi is seeking the presidency in 2027, according to the supplied report, making the legal battle over the party’s registration particularly significant to its candidates and supporters.
The party had previously rejected the June 26 Federal High Court ruling and announced plans to challenge it at the Court of Appeal, insisting that the NDC had not been deregistered and that its political activities and nominations remained valid.
The reported Court of Appeal ruling therefore marks the latest development in the continuing legal battle over the NDC’s registration, with the majority decision reversing the Federal High Court’s June 26 position while the dissenting judgment by Justice Abang provides a contrasting legal view.
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