Ahidjo Karlahi, a leader with the Organization for All Democratic Alliance, has gone to court seeking to deregister the Nigerian Democratic Congress. He filed the suit last Tuesday in Abuja's Federal High Court.
Justice Mohammed Umar has been assigned to the case. Court documents show it's marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1115/2026.
Seriake Dickson, NDC's national leader and founder, recently told party members something different. He said at the party's first national convention that there's no legal challenge to their registration.
Dickson made the remarks in Abuja at the Angeles Event Centre. He insisted the party is legally recognized and ready for 2027 elections.
But Karlahi's court papers tell a different story. He argues NDC failed to meet constitutional requirements for political party registration.
According to him, relevant sections of Nigeria's 1999 Constitution and the 2022 Electoral Act weren't followed. NDC should never have been registered, he contends.
In his originating summons, Karlahi listed INEC as the first defendant and NDC as the second. He made several specific claims against the party.
NDC wasn't among associations prequalified for the 2025 registration exercise, he stated. They also didn't pay the mandatory N2,000,000 administrative fee, according to court documents.
The party never accessed INEC's dedicated registration portal for 2025. This portal was the only legitimate way to submit Form EC15A, Karlahi noted.
Without submitting this mandatory form, no party can legally apply for registration. NDC, he argued, skipped every required step in the process.
"These are not mere allegations — they are matters of public record," Karlahi stated in court filings. He emphasized that INEC's own records would show the violations.
NDC was never listed among associations that actually applied during the exercise. INEC published those prequalified associations publicly, according to Karlahi's submission.
He's asking the court to invalidate NDC's continued status as a political party. All of this, he said, violates Nigeria's constitutional framework.
Karlahi wants the court to declare NDC's registration "unconstitutional, illegal, unlawful, ultra vires, null and void." He seeks multiple remedies in his application.
He's requested that the court set aside NDC's Certificate of Registration entirely. INEC should remove NDC from its official register of political parties, he argued.
The court should also restrain NDC from participating in any electoral activities. They should be forbidden from presenting themselves as a registered party, Karlahi submitted.
Furthermore, he wants the court to order INEC to stop all dealings with NDC. The commission should treat them as unregistered going forward, according to the suit.
This legal challenge comes just months before Nigeria's 2027 general elections approach. NDC has been working to establish itself as a serious contender.
The case will now proceed through the Federal High Court system. Justice Umar will determine whether Karlahi's arguments have legal merit.
