The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the Tanimu Turaki (SAN)-led interim leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), dealing a setback to the faction led by the party’s Board of Trustees Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice Salim Ibrahim declined the request to order the electoral commission to update its records in favour of the Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC), ruling that the action was incompetent and outside the court’s jurisdiction.
The suit was instituted by members of the Wabara-led Board of Trustees, who sought judicial intervention to validate all actions taken by the Turaki-led leadership and compel INEC to formally recognise it as the party’s legitimate national executive.
The plaintiffs also asked the court to direct the electoral umpire to publish the names of members of the interim National Working Committee on its official website after they claimed the list had been forwarded to INEC through letters dated May 4.
Among the plaintiffs were former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, former Niger State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, former Information Minister Prof. Jerry Gana, PDP chieftain Chief Olabode George, former Ministers Maryam Ciroma and Zainab Maina, Dame Esther Uduehi and the Peoples Democratic Party.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, named INEC as the sole defendant.
The plaintiffs argued that by virtue of Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 32 of the PDP Constitution, the electoral commission was obligated to recognise the Turaki-led interim leadership and give effect to its official correspondence.
However, the faction of the party aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, challenged both the competence of the suit and the jurisdiction of the court to entertain it.
The group, led by its National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed, sought to be joined in the proceedings alongside National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu, National Legal Adviser Kamardeen Ajibade, former Imo PDP Chairman Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah and George Turner.
The faction maintained that it remained the authentic leadership of the PDP and argued that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to institute the action.
It also urged the court to strike out the PDP as a party to the suit, insisting that the case was filed without the party’s authorisation.
Although the plaintiffs opposed the applications, contending that those seeking to be joined had been expelled from the party and that no valid national convention took place in Abuja in March, the court ruled in favour of the joinder applications before proceeding to determine the substantive case.
Justice Ibrahim held that the applicants had sufficient interest in the matter because the outcome of the suit would directly affect them.
The court subsequently upheld the preliminary objections raised by the respondents and dismissed the suit for lack of jurisdiction.
Justice Ibrahim held that the case constituted an abuse of court process, noting that the plaintiffs were attempting to relitigate issues that had already been determined by competent courts.
The judge also struck out the PDP as a plaintiff after finding that there was no evidence the party authorised the institution of the suit in its name.
According to the court, granting the reliefs sought would amount to undermining existing judicial decisions already delivered on the party’s leadership dispute.
Justice Ibrahim further held that the suit had become merely academic because INEC had already monitored the PDP convention that produced the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led executives.
“The court does not decide hypothetical or academic questions,” Justice Ibrahim held.
The court also ruled that the action was improperly commenced by Originating Summons despite the highly contentious nature of the issues involved.
In addition, Justice Ibrahim observed that existing court judgments had already nullified the PDP convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, which produced the Turaki-led executives.
Having upheld the objections raised by the respondents, the court dismissed the suit in its entirety, leaving the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led leadership recognised by INEC while the PDP’s internal leadership dispute continues.
(Ripples)