The Federal Government of Nigeria has condemned the designation of certain Nigerian political parties as terrorist organizations by a Canadian Federal Court, describing the ruling as “reckless” and an unacceptable intrusion into the country’s internal affairs and democratic processes.
In a statement on Friday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa said the decision arose from a case involving Nigerian national, Mr. Douglas Egharevba, who arrived in Canada in September 2017 and applied for refugee status under the country’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
According to the ministry, the court issued a sweeping judgment implicating the entire membership of a political party that has produced three democratically elected presidents, instead of restricting its ruling to individuals found guilty of wrongdoing.
government warned that such a ruling could unfairly portray millions of legitimate party members as potential terrorists, a claim it insists is false and unacceptable.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s sovereignty, the statement stressed that all political parties operate within the nation’s legal framework and form part of its vibrant democratic system.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria calls on Canadian authorities to immediately retract this erroneous designation and refrain from endorsing politically motivated narratives against our country,” the statement read.
It added that diplomatic channels remain open for constructive engagement and urged Canada to liaise with Nigerian institutions to correct the alleged error.
Nigeria also restated its commitment to the global fight against terrorism, urging the international community to disregard the court’s decision.
It further cautioned Nigerians abroad against making unfounded allegations against their country in pursuit of asylum or favours from foreign governments.
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