BREAKING: Court vacates judgment ordering INEC to register NDC as political party

The Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja on Friday set aside its earlier judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party.

Justice Isah Dashen, who presided over the matter, held that the earlier judgment was constitutionally defective because it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties in the case.

The ruling followed an application filed by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which argued that the NDC’s registration was based on a logo the party had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

In his decision, Justice Dashen ruled that all relevant parties must be given the opportunity to be heard before any substantive determination could be made on the matter.

The court consequently ordered that the substantive suit should commence afresh, with INEC, the Peace Movement Party, and the National Democratic Congress joined as parties to the case.

Justice Dashen also directed that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 2025 judgment pending the determination of the substantive suit.

Speaking with journalists after the ruling, counsel to the applicant, Chikezie Ekeocha, said the Peace Movement Party approached the court after discovering that the NDC’s registration was premised on a logo it had earlier submitted to INEC before the commencement of the legal action.

Ekeocha said the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and, as a result, vacated the earlier judgment that ordered INEC to register the NDC as a political party.