INEC TO REVIEW COURT JUDGEMENT ON NDC REGISTRATION
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The Independent National Electoral Commission says it hasn’t received the official copy of the court‘s decision from the Federal High Court in Lokoja.This decision overturned a previous ruling about the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
In an interview with the press on Saturday, Adedayo Oketola, the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, mentioned that the commission knows about the media reports on the June 26 judgment.
But they can’t talk about the details until they get and check the official court document.
The statement said, “The Independent National Electoral Commission is aware of reports in the media about the judgment given on Friday, June 26, 2026, by the Federal High Court in Lokoja, which canceled an earlier order about the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
However, as of now, the Commission hasn’t received the official certified copy of the court‘s decision.”
According to the commission, its legal department will study the judgment once the certified copy is received before determining the next course of action.
“Once the Commission’s legal department receives and thoroughly studies the CTC of the judgment, INEC will take an informed, lawful decision in line with the court’s directives.
“Until then, we cannot comment on the specifics of the ruling, and the public is urged to await the Commission’s formal position on the matter,” Oketola added.
The commission’s reaction comes a day after Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court in Lokoja set aside the court’s earlier judgment of December 10, 2025, which had directed INEC to register the NDC as a political party.
The court held that the rights of the Peace Movement Party were affected by the earlier judgment because it was not joined in the suit despite claiming ownership of the logo relied upon in obtaining the order.
The court consequently directed that all parties return to the positions they occupied before the December 2025 judgment and ordered a fresh hearing of the substantive case with all necessary parties joined.
Following the ruling, the NDC rejected the decision and announced plans to challenge it at the Court of Appeal. The party’s National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, maintained that the party had not been deregistered and argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to revisit a matter on which it had already delivered a final judgment.
The development has generated reactions from opposition figures and groups, including the NDC’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the party’s National Leader, Senator Henry Dickson, and other opposition stakeholders, who described the ruling as a threat to Nigeria’s multiparty democracy and vowed to pursue all available legal remedies.
INEC, however, said it would reserve its position until it receives and studies the Certified True Copy of the judgment.
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