By Eshiorameh Sebastian in Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed as “patently erroneous and mischievous” media reports claiming that a Canadian court declared it a terrorist organisation.
In a press statement issued on Friday, the party insisted that no such ruling was made and accused certain outlets of spreading misinformation.
The party’s rebuttal followed a reports in some section of the media linking it to a Canadian immigration case involving Douglas Egharevba, a Nigerian national who sought a judicial review of a decision declaring him inadmissible to Canada.
Some media reports had suggested that the court labelled the APC as a terrorist group—an assertion the party has strongly denied.
“We wish to state categorically that the Canadian court did not declare APC as a terrorist organisation, contrary to highly erroneous media reports in circulation,” said Felix Morka, the APC’s National Publicity Secretary.
The case, Douglas Egharevba v. The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, centred on whether Egharevba was inadmissible under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
The court upheld a prior ruling that found him ineligible due to his membership in Nigeria’s opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) had linked to “subversive acts” during elections.
In his June 17, 2025, decision, Judge Phuong T.V. Ngo dismissed Egharevba’s application, stating: “As such, applying the reasonableness standard of review, I cannot find the IAD’s conclusion that the Elections in question constituted a democratic process or institution and that the PDP, its members and supporters engaged in subversive acts committed against the electoral process for the improper purpose of maintaining political power to be unreasonable.”
Crucially, the judge explicitly avoided ruling on terrorism claims, noting: “Having found that the IAD’s analysis on subversion was reasonable, this is sufficient to dismiss the application for review. I will therefore refrain from analyzing the IAD’s findings on terrorism.”
The APC pointed out that the only mention of the party in the 16-page ruling was in the background section, where Egharevba falsely claimed to have been an APC member from 2007—six years before the party was formally registered.
“The Applicant’s claim of membership of APC as of 2007 is evidently false as he could not have been a member of APC that didn’t exist at the time,” Morka said.
He further argued that even if the court had made any adverse findings against the APC—which it did not—such a ruling would have been legally irrelevant. “The court did not make such a declaration, and could not have done so as that would be an unjustifiable overreach, and a major breach of fair hearing, among other due process rights, given that APC was not a party to the proceedings,” he stated.
The party urged its supporters and the Nigerian public to disregard the reports, calling them “false and misleading.”
Background of the Court Case
The legal dispute arose from Egharevba’s attempt to overturn a Canadian immigration ruling that barred him from the country. Authorities had determined that his past involvement with the PDP made him inadmissible under Section 34(1)(b.1) of the IRPA, which blocks individuals affiliated with groups engaged in subversion.
Egharevba had argued that Nigeria’s elections were not truly democratic and that his party’s actions did not amount to subversion. However, the court sided with Canadian immigration officials, finding their assessment reasonable.
While the case focused on the PDP, the erroneous media reports conflated it with unrelated references to the APC, leading to the false narrative that the ruling party had been designated a terrorist entity. Legal experts say such a declaration would have been highly unusual, as Canadian courts typically do not unilaterally label foreign political parties as terrorist groups without a formal designation process.
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