A Federal High Court, sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, on Friday, set aside an earlier judgment of December 10, 2025, which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC.

Delivering his ruling in Suit No. FHC/LKJ/CS/49/2025, Justice Isah Dashen held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by the Peace Movement Party, PMP, ruling that the party is a necessary party to the suit.

Justice Dashen noted that counsel to the PMP successfully demonstrated the party’s legal interest, which warranted its inclusion in the proceedings.

According to the judge, the earlier judgment was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Justice Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 2025 judgment, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit commence afresh, with INEC, the Peace Movement Party PMP, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, as parties to the case.

Counsel to the applicant, C.S. Ekeocha, told journalists that the Peace Movement Party approached the court after discovering that the NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.