Court of Appeal Reinstates Nigeria Democratic Congress Registration

The Court of Appeal in Abuja reversed the Federal High Court's earlier ruling that had set aside its directive for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). This decision was reached in a 2-1 judgment, with Justice Mohammed Danjuma and Justice M.L.

Hassan forming the majority against Justice Isah Dashen's ruling from June. The case arose after the Peace Movement Party (PMP) claimed ownership of the logo used by the NDC and argued it was not included as a necessary party in the proceedings.

The Court of Appeal determined that the PMP is not a registered political party and thus could not be considered a necessary party in the dispute. The majority judgment criticized the Lokoja court for wrongly declaring the PMP as affected by the previous judgment recognizing the NDC.

In dissent, Justice Okon Abang argued that the NDC's appeal was late and that the trial court did not rule on the PMP's registration status.