The platinum and Taylor Hill all is a law firm in Lagos that has recently disclosed a case to the public where the Two major political party in Nigeria were classified as Terrorist Organizations. They published this case on their LinkedIn page . The case below clearly narrates
CASE: THE STATE OF CANADA V. DOUGLAS EGHAREVBA. BACKGROUND.
Douglas Egharevba a Nigerian national joined the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) at its inception in 1999, and then defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2007, remaining there until 2017. In September 2017, he sought asylum in Canada, disclosing his political affiliations as required on his Background Declaration Form.
THE ALLEGATIONS. According to reports, Canada’s Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) found that both the PDP and APC engaged in widespread political violence, including voter intimidation, ballot-stuffing, ballot-box snatching, and politically motivated killings, especially during the PDP’s dominance in the 2003 state elections and 2004 local polls. The court concluded that the leadership benefited from these acts and failed to stop them. The decision of the IAD was upheld by the Federal Court Justice Phuong T.V. Ngo, delivering the judgment on June 17, 2025, held that under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), mere membership in an organization implicated in terrorism or democratic subversion suffices for inadmissibility, even in the absence of personal involvement in wrongdoing.
COURT’S DECISION Reports also suggest that Egharevba applied to the Federal Court for judicial review; however, the Court dismissed his application. It endorsed the IAD’s conclusion that his affiliation alone made him inadmissible, and refused to certify the matter for further legal questioning, effectively putting an end to his asylum bid.
PARTY REACTIONS In response, the PDP strongly condemned the classification, calling the ruling “misinformed, biased, and lacking evidence” and urging that it be dismissed outright. Similarly, the APC dismissed the judgment, insisting the judge lacked actual knowledge of Nigeria’s political landscape and reaffirming that the party remains a democratic, credible organization that does not require validation from a foreign court.
The Platinum and Taylor Hill has established how the International Law space in this ruling marks a rare instance where a foreign court equated two established political parties, Nigeria’s PDP and APC, with terrorist organizations under international law.
It raises profound questions: Should political membership alone carry such legal consequences? Does this blur the distinction between ideological affiliation and criminal association? And what precedent does it set for asylum law and political expression? The verdict shines a harsh light on Nigeria’s political environment and prompts urgent reflection on how the global justice system addresses political violence, systemic malpractice, and the rights of political actors abroad.
