Lokoja Court Vacates Judgment Ordering INEC To Register NDC

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

Justice Isah Dashen, who delivered the ruling, held that the December 2025 judgment was constitutionally defective because it was entered without hearing all parties whose interests were directly affected by the suit.

The decision followed an application filed by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which argued that the NDC’s registration was predicated on a logo that had earlier been submitted to INEC by the PMP before the commencement of the original suit.

Justice Dashen ruled that the failure to join and hear all interested parties amounted to a breach of the constitutional right to fair hearing, rendering the earlier judgment liable to be vacated.

The court consequently ordered that the substantive suit commence afresh, with INEC, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) joined as parties to the proceedings.

Pending the determination of the fresh suit, the court directed that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 2025 judgment that compelled INEC to register the NDC.

Speaking with journalists after the ruling, counsel to the applicant, Chikezie Ekeocha, said the PMP approached the court after discovering that the NDC’s registration was founded on a logo that the PMP had previously submitted to INEC.

ALSO.READ: Education Minister Queries FUTO VC Over Appointment Of 24 Aides, Orders Reversal

According to Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s legal rights and interests were affected by the earlier proceedings and therefore nullified the judgment that ordered INEC to register the NDC as a political party.

The NDC’s registration has been the subject of legal controversy in recent months. Although INEC registered the party in February 2026 in compliance with the Lokoja court order, several political groups and stakeholders have questioned the process, arguing that the party was not among the associations initially pre-qualified by the electoral commission during the 2025 registration exercise.

The latest ruling is expected to reopen the legal battle over the NDC’s registration, with the substantive suit now set to be heard afresh after all interested parties have been joined.