Lokoja court ruling on NDC a setback for democracy, says Peter Obi

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has described Friday’s Federal High Court ruling in Lokoja setting aside the judgment that led to the party’s registration as “an unnecessary serious setback” for Nigeria’s democracy.

Obi, who reacted to the development on Friday, said the ruling raised fresh concerns about the state of the country’s democratic institutions and urged Nigerians to defend the independence and credibility of the nation’s constitutional bodies.

In a statement titled “Lokoja Judgment: An Unnecessary Serious Setback for Nigerian Democracy,” the former Anambra State governor said he received news of the court’s decision while attending engagements in Imo State.

According to him, he had travelled from Lagos to Emekuku to inspect projects at the School of Nursing Sciences, including a computer laboratory funded through his intervention, before attending the 80th birthday celebration of the Emeritus Archbishop of Owerri, Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Obinna. He said he was later informed of the Lokoja judgment while at Madonna University by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Reacting to the ruling, Obi said every Nigerian committed to the country’s progress should be worried by the development.

“Every Nigerian committed to the country’s progress should be deeply concerned. This judgment represents another setback for our democracy and the institutions upon which our future depends,” he said.

The NDC presidential candidate expressed concern over what he described as a growing erosion of confidence in democratic institutions, warning that Nigeria’s democracy cannot flourish if key institutions lose their independence and credibility.

“It is regrettable that some who claim to champion democracy now appear determined to weaken the very institutions that sustain it. In doing so, they are undermining public confidence and endangering the future of millions of Nigerians,” Obi stated.

He added that both the legislature and the judiciary were increasingly being drawn into what he described as a pattern of institutional decline.

According to Obi, attempts to weaken Nigeria’s democratic foundations would ultimately fail, recalling that he had taken a similar position when another opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), faced legal challenges.

“When a similar situation recently affected the ADC, I condemned it without hesitation. I do so again today because my position has always been guided by principle,” he said.

Obi maintained that his concern was not about political power but about building institutions capable of sustaining Nigeria’s democracy.

“My concern is not about who becomes President. My concern is that Nigeria works. Our politics must move beyond the quest for power and focus instead on building a united nation founded on justice, strong institutions, the rule of law and equal opportunity,” he said.

He called on Nigerians to set aside partisan interests and work together to protect democratic institutions, insisting that the country’s future depends on the survival of its constitutional order.

The statement comes in the wake of Friday’s ruling by the Federal High Court in Lokoja, where Justice Isah Dashen set aside the court’s December 2025 judgment that compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress as a political party.

The judge held that the earlier proceedings were constitutionally defective because all necessary parties were not heard before judgment was delivered. He subsequently ordered that the substantive suit be heard afresh, with the NDC, INEC and the Peace Movement Party joined as parties.

The ruling has continued to generate controversy, with the NDC insisting that it has not been deregistered and announcing plans to challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.