Canadian Court Labels APC, PDP as “Terrorist Organizations,” Triggers Deportation of Ex-Politician
In a landmark decision, a Canadian federal court has affirmed a ruling that brands Nigeria’s two major political parties—the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—as “terrorist organisations,” setting the stage for the deportation of former politician Douglas Egharevba.
The judgment, delivered on June 17, 2025, upheld a previous ruling by Canada’s Immigration Appeal Division (IAD). It found Egharevba inadmissible under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) due to his affiliation with these parties during periods marred by political violence and democratic subversion.
Canadian authorities presented evidence linking both the APC and PDP to political violence, electoral fraud, voter intimidation, ballot box tampering, and targeted killings. The court held that top party officials benefited from these activities and failed to curb them.
Egharevba, who initially joined the PDP at its inception in 1999 and later defected to the APC in 2007, insisted he had no personal record of involvement in any wrongdoing. But the court dismissed this defense, emphasizing that membership during violent or anti-democratic periods sufficed as grounds for inadmissibility under IRPA, regardless of individual culpability.
Justice Phuong Ngo reinforced Canada’s expansive interpretation of “membership” in proscribed organizations under IRPA. The judgment stated that even passive association—without direct participation—can be grounds for admissibility denial.
While Egharevba argued that political violence is endemic across Nigeria’s political landscape, the court rejected the notion that flawed elections absolved subversion. It held that, despite imperfections, Nigerian elections still qualify as democratic in Canadian legal terms—and undermining them constitutes actionable subversion.
With this ruling, Egharevba’s asylum application is effectively defunct, and deportation proceedings are now expected to commence.
