Federal Court of Canada has upheld a decision labeling Nigeria’s two dominant political parties — the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as organizations linked to terrorism, while denying asylum to former member Douglas Egharevba over his decade-long affiliation with both parties.
Justice Phuong Ngo, in a ruling delivered on June 17, 2025, dismissed Egharevba’s appeal after Canada’s Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) found him inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
According to Peoples Gazette, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness argued that both parties were implicated in electoral violence, democratic subversion, and politically motivated killings in Nigeria.
Court documents revealed that Egharevba was a PDP member from 1999 to 2007 before joining the APC, where he remained until 2017. Upon relocating to Canada in September 2017, he disclosed his political background, which drew scrutiny from immigration authorities citing intelligence reports linking the parties to widespread violence.
The IAD cited the PDP’s conduct during the 2003 state elections and 2004 local government polls, where party operatives allegedly engaged in ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, and attacks on opposition supporters. The tribunal concluded that PDP leaders knowingly benefited from this violence and failed to curb it, satisfying Canada’s legal definition of democratic subversion under paragraph 34(1)(b.1) of the IRPA.
Justice Ngo further ruled that mere membership in an organization associated with terrorism or subversion is sufficient grounds for inadmissibility under paragraph 34(1)(f), regardless of direct involvement in violent acts.
Egharevba’s argument that electoral violence was common across all Nigerian political parties was rejected. The court held that even flawed Nigerian elections still constitute a democratic process under Canadian law and that undermining them qualifies as subversion.
With this ruling, Egharevba’s asylum bid has been effectively terminated, and deportation proceedings are expected to begin.