LagosExplorer reports: Douglas Egharevba, a former member of Nigeria’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), has been declared inadmissible to Canada under the country’s security provisions, after the Immigration Appeal Division ruled against his judicial review application.
Egharevba, who joined the PDP in 1999 and moved to the APC in 2007, maintained that he never engaged in political violence or terrorism. Despite this, Justice Phuong Ngo, in a June 17, 2025 judgment, cited widespread and persistent acts of political violence and intimidation linked to party members over the years as the basis for dismissing his case.
Court filings show that Egharevba disclosed his political history when he entered Canada in September 2017, confirming his eight-year membership in the PDP before joining the APC. Canadian authorities referenced intelligence and international reports tying both parties to politically motivated killings and electoral misconduct, particularly highlighting the PDP’s record during the 2003 and 2004 polls.
An immigration officer had initially ruled in Egharevba’s favour in 2020, citing insufficient evidence that party leaders orchestrated violence or sought to subvert democracy. However, following an appeal by Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Immigration Appeal Division overturned the decision on March 25, 2024, concluding that mere membership in the PDP, regardless of personal conduct, made him inadmissible.
Reacting to the ruling, the APC rejected the verdict as “meddlesome” and unfair. Bala Ibrahim, the party’s National Director of Publicity, insisted that the APC is a legitimate political organisation in Nigeria, not a terrorist group. “The APC has won elections, including presidential elections. It is unfortunate to describe a political party poised for peace as otherwise. It is meddlesome for a court in another country to interpret the activities of political parties in another country as acts of terrorism,” he said, adding that the party does not promote electoral violence or malpractice.
The PDP also weighed in on the judgment, describing it as “misinformed, biased, and lacking evidence.” The party’s Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, told Vanguard that the ruling was unfounded and unjustified. He emphasised that Nigeria and Canada are both democracies and that such allegations should be handled with caution and precision.
He argued that there was no evidence to support claims that either party is a terrorist organisation and suggested that Canadian authorities should focus on specific allegations against individuals rather than making sweeping accusations.
Osadolor added that while people have the right to freedom of speech, it should be exercised with circumspection.