The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will not take any position on the recent court ruling involving the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) until it receives and reviews the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment.
Speaking to newsmen on Saturday, the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, said the commission was aware of reports surrounding the Federal High Court judgment delivered in Lokoja on June 26 but had yet to obtain the official court documents.
According to him, INEC’s legal department must first study the judgment before the commission can determine its next line of action.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission is aware of reports circulating in the media regarding the judgment delivered on Friday, June 26, 2026, by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, which set aside an earlier order concerning the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
“However, as of this moment, the Commission has not yet received the Certified True Copy of the court’s order,” Oketola said.
He explained that once the certified judgment is received, INEC’s legal team will carefully examine its contents and advise the commission accordingly.
“Once the Commission’s legal department receives and thoroughly studies the CTC of the judgment, INEC will take an informed and lawful decision in line with the court’s directives.
“Until then, we cannot comment on the specifics of the ruling, and the public is urged to await the Commission’s formal position on the matter.
The development follows Friday’s ruling by Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court in Lokoja, which overturned an earlier judgment delivered on December 10, 2025. That previous judgment had directed INEC to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress as a political party.
In setting aside the earlier order, the court held that the Peace Movement Party, which claimed ownership of the logo used in the registration process, was not joined in the original suit despite being directly affected by the outcome.
Justice Dashen subsequently ordered all parties to return to the positions they occupied before the December 2025 judgment and directed that the substantive case be reheard with all relevant parties included.
The NDC has since rejected the ruling and vowed to challenge it at the Court of Appeal. The party’s National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, argued that the court lacked the authority to revisit a matter on which it had already delivered a final judgment.
The ruling has also drawn criticism from several opposition figures, including the NDC’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and the party’s National Leader, Henry Dickson, who described the decision as a setback for Nigeria’s multi-party democratic system.
For now, INEC says it will remain guided by due process and will only respond officially after reviewing the certified court judgment.
