Femi Falana Challenges APC and PDP to Prove They Are Not Terrorist Organisations
Prominent human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has issued a bold challenge to Nigeria’s two major political parties—the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—demanding that they legally demonstrate they are not terrorist organisations.
The challenge follows a controversial ruling by a Canadian Federal Court, where Justice Phuong Ngo dismissed the asylum appeal of a Nigerian national, Douglas Egharevba, on the grounds that both APC and PDP had allegedly engaged in conduct amounting to terrorism due to their use of violence, coercion, and the subversion of democratic institutions in pursuit of political power .
Falana condemned the parties’ dismissive responses—where the APC reportedly labelled the judge “ignorant” and the PDP described the ruling as “mischievous”—as inadequate legal reactions that failed to address the court’s substantive concerns . He called on them to pursue legal avenues to debunk the terrorist label, rather than resort to inflammatory rhetoric .
Under Nigeria’s Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act of 2022, acts of intimidation, violence, or coercion for political or ideological ends qualify as terrorism—behavior Falana notes is all too common in the country’s electoral process, with election rigging, intimidation, ballot manipulation, and violence often going unpunished .
Falana also warned of broader implications: if the Canadian ruling is registered or accepted in jurisdictions like the United States, the United Kingdom, or France, it could trigger visa revocations or deportations of APC or PDP members abroad . He urged the Nigerian government to engage immigration lawyers to mitigate the fallout and “remove the stigma of infamy” attached to the judgment .
Additionally, Falana called for Nigerian authorities—including the judiciary and security agencies—to uphold constitutional and legal norms during elections, enforce the Electoral Act rigorously, and prosecute perpetrators of political violence, regardless of their political affiliation .
