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The Federal Government has faulted a ruling by a Canadian federal court labelling Nigeria’s two major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), as “terrorist organisations.”
In a statement on Friday, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the ruling as “erroneous” and “a sweeping accusation” that unfairly targets millions of party members.
The designation was contained in a judgment on an application for judicial review involving Douglas Egharevba, a Nigerian who arrived in Canada in September 2017 and applied for refugee status.
Egharevba’s application was denied in 2019 due to his membership in the PDP. An immigration officer alleged he belonged to an organisation “that has engaged in acts of subversion against a democratic government, institution, or process and engaged in terrorism.”
The Nigerian challenged his inadmissibility, but a judge upheld the ruling in June.
Reacting to the development, ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa said, “The larger ramification of the decision is that every member of the mentioned political parties is a potential terrorist, and that is completely false and unacceptable.”
The ministry insisted the judgment “constitutes an unacceptable interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs and democratic processes.”
The statement added, “Nigeria is a sovereign nation with a robust legal and constitutional framework governing political activities. Our political parties operate within the ambit of the law and are integral to the country’s vibrant democracy.
“To associate legitimate political entities with terrorism without credible evidence is a grave misrepresentation that undermines Nigeria’s democratic institutions and could incite unnecessary tension.”
The Federal Government called on Canadian authorities to immediately retract the designation and warned Nigerians against making “unfounded allegations” in pursuit of asylum or favours abroad.
The post Breaking: FG Reacts To Canadian Court Tagging APC, PDP Terrorist Organizations appeared first on Naija News.
