The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has officially announced its intention to challenge at the Court of Appeal the recent Federal High Court ruling in Lokoja that nullified the judgment previously compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the party.
In a statement issued on Friday, NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, expressed the party’s dissatisfaction with the decision delivered by Justice Isah Dashen.
He argued that the court lacked the jurisdiction to overturn its own final judgment through a motion, asserting that the trial court had become functus officio—meaning its authority over the matter had concluded upon the delivery of the original December 2025 verdict.
Cleopas also criticized the legal challenge brought forward by the Peace Movement Party, labeling the process an “outright abuse of court process.” He maintained that if the Peace Movement Party felt aggrieved by the initial ruling, the proper legal recourse should have been an appeal, rather than seeking to vacate the judgment via a motion.
Despite the court’s decision to order a fresh hearing and restore the status quo to the position held before the December 2025 judgment, the NDC leadership insisted that the party has not been deregistered. Cleopas moved to reassure party members, candidates, and supporters that political operations will continue without interruption while the legal team pursues an appeal to overturn the recent order.
“We assure the general public, and particularly our candidates at all levels, that our party is on course,” Cleopas stated. He further accused unnamed political interests of attempting to suppress the opposition and shrink the democratic space ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The leadership of the NDC has since convened an emergency meeting at its national secretariat in Abuja to discuss further steps as they prepare to take the matter to the appellate court.
