Justice Phuong Ngo delivered the judgment on June 17, 2025, in the case of Douglas Egharevba, a former member of both Nigerian political parties who was denied asylum in Canada. The Federal Court dismissed Egharevba’s application for judicial review after immigration authorities found him inadmissible under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
Egharevba had been a PDP member from 1999 to 2007 before joining the APC until 2017. After moving to Canada in September 2017, his political affiliations were flagged by immigration authorities based on intelligence reports linking both parties to electoral violence and politically motivated killings.
The Immigration Appeal Division based its decision primarily on the PDP’s alleged conduct during the 2003 state elections and 2004 local government polls, citing ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, and violence against opposition supporters. The tribunal concluded that party leadership benefited from the violence and failed to prevent it, meeting Canada’s legal definition of subversion.