Judicial Overreach in Lokoja: A Dangerous Assault on Democracy and the Rule of Law Peace and Movement Party Is Not a Registered Political Party in Nigeria

By Chief Peter Ameh

It is laughable that a court would agree to deregister a duly registered political party simply because an unregistered, legally nonexistent party asked it to do so. Something is seriously and fundamentally wrong with integrity of the court decision in that judgment.

This is no longer just about the executive arm of government interfering in judicial affairs but deep system rot within the judiciary itself.

There appears to be a deeper institutional problem within the judiciary that raises troubling questions about the integrity and consistency of the judicial process. Can our democracy survive without certainty and finality of cases?

What public interest did the judge seek to protect with that obstructive judgment? Rather than protecting any public interest, it has gone far in destroying the public interest of Nigerian citizens who have subscribed to the membership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

Justice Isa Dashen, in the guise of reviewing his own judgment, ended up sitting as an Appellate Court over his own judgment. Ordinarily, once a court delivers its judgment, it is said to have become functus officio, meaning that the court has performed its duty and exhausted its powers over that matter.

A court is not supposed to review its own judgment except in extreme circumstances, such as where it acted without jurisdiction, where a party to the suit was not properly served, or where the judgment was obtained by fraud. Sadly, none of these circumstances existed to justify Justice Isa Dashen reviewing his own judgment.

It is important to note that the Peace Movement Party was not a party to the suit that earlier birthed the judgment of the Court on the 10th of December 2025 and could not have been a legal party to the suit because it is not a legal entity by law.

INEC as the registrar and regulator of political parties did not appeal the judgment within the three months period allowed by law. It is therefore a clear case of judicial overreach for the judgment to upturn the earlier decision after six months through a very questionable process.

This came after NDC had conducted its primaries and candidates had emerged across Nigeria. NDC brought an action against INEC strictly on its administrative decision. Why wait for six months and sixteen days before bringing such an application?

What would it have taken Justice Isa Dashen to reopen the case if he so desired, without disturbing the substance of his earlier judgment that was properly given?

The Peace Movement Party is not even a registered political party known to law and cannot apply in this manner even if the case was appealed by INEC.

The so claim Peace and Movement Party is not a legal entity and did not suffer any injury due to the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.

But because they know that if INEC, being the only party to the suit, decides to appeal the judgment now, it will naturally raise suspicion due to the fact that the 3 months period required for such to happen has elapsed, they instead opted for an application seeking a review of the same judgment they were never a party to and had no locus standi.

This is exactly why many legal minds should be worried. What just happened raises serious questions about the limits of judicial powers and the sanctity of final judgments. I regret to say this, but we are in a very deep and unfortunate era as a nation.

The Lokoja judgment is obviously the hand of Esau and the voice of Jacob the puppet and the puppeteer. It represents a failed APC government that is petrified of a free and fair election and that is desperate to recoronate a failed leadership for a second term without a transparent electoral contest.

Nigeria and its political process cannot continue to constitute the play-toy of roguish and clueless charlatans whose only motivation is to steal the country’s resources and multiply the indices of bad governance and misery.

We must insist that judicial manipulation is discontinued forthwith. Well-meaning Nigerians will mobilise its supporters and the teeming Nigerian masses to rallies against the impunity in the system and judicial manipulation and rascality.

This will be in addition to sensitising the global community on Bola Tinubu’s and APC’s spirited and desperate effort to foist and reproduce this rejected status quo on Nigeria via the 2027 general elections by strangulating virile opposition.

For many Nigerians, this is not an error of law. It is an assault on democracy.

Signed:
Chief Peter Ameh
Former National Chairman
Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC)

Acting National Chairman, CUPP

Ex—2019 Presidential Candidate

Economist, Poltical Party Management Strategist, Governance Policy & Development Expert.