APC Denies Canadian Court Terrorist Designation, Labels Reports False and Misleading

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has firmly refuted reports alleging that a Canadian court designated the party as a terrorist organisation.

In a statement released on Friday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, clarified that no such pronouncement was made, stressing that the claims circulating in some media outlets are entirely false and misleading.

The reports, which surfaced on Thursday (excluding The PUNCH), suggested that both the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were labelled terrorist organisations by a Canadian court ruling. However, Morka stated, “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.”

He explained that the case in question—Douglas Egharevba vs. the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness—involved a judicial review of a decision by the Canadian Immigration Appeal Division (IAD), which found the applicant inadmissible to Canada under its Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

In its ruling dated June 17, 2025, Justice Phuong T.V. Ngo dismissed the application for judicial review, affirming the IAD’s conclusion that Egharevba’s association with the PDP and his involvement in subversive acts rendered him inadmissible under paragraph 34(1)(b.1) of the IRPA.

Quoting directly from the ruling, the court noted:
“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.”

Morka underscored that the APC was never the subject of scrutiny or judgment in the case, stating that the only mention of the APC appeared in paragraph 4 of the background section of the court’s 16-page decision. There, the applicant claimed to have been a member of the APC from 2007 to 2017.

However, Morka pointed out a factual inaccuracy in that claim: “For the record, APC was not in existence as of 2007. The party was registered in 2013. The applicant’s claim of membership of APC as of 2007 is evidently false.”

He added, “To be clear, the court never made any determination on the question of terrorism in its decision. Any such claim is blatantly false and, at best, deliberately misleading.”

The APC further emphasized that even if such a declaration had been made, it would hold no legal relevance, as the court lacks jurisdiction over political designations in Nigeria.

“Clearly, reports that APC was declared a terrorist organisation by the Canadian court in this matter are patently erroneous, if not mischievous,” the statement continued. “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.”

The party urged Nigerians to disregard the false narrative and remain vigilant against politically motivated misinformation.