The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deepened on Monday as the faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the party’s recent national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2501/2025, the plaintiffs, the PDP, Acting National Chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman, and National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, asked the court to declare the November 15–16 Ibadan convention and all decisions taken there as “null, void, and of no effect.”
The plaintiffs, all loyal to the Wike camp, insist that the convention was conducted in blatant disregard of three subsisting judgments of the Federal High Court.
They argued that the court had previously nullified the 21-day notice issued for the convention and expressly restrained the party from conducting any such exercise.
In the originating summons, the plaintiffs cited:
The October 31 judgment in FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025 (Austine Nwachukwu v INEC & Ors);
The interim order of November 11 and judgment of November 14 in FHC/ABJ/CS/2299/2025 (Sule Lamido v PDP & Ors);
The May 31, 2023 judgment in FHC/ABJ/CS/139/2023 (Nyesom Wike v PDP & Ors).
Despite these rulings, the plaintiffs alleged that the 5th to 25th defendants, including Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, and other prominent members, organised themselves and their cohorts and convened the Ibadan convention where national officers were elected and key party members expelled.
In an affidavit, Anyanwu said the Damagum-led group attempted on November 18 to “forcibly take control” of the PDP national secretariat at Wadata Plaza and Legacy House in Abuja.
According to him, instead of enforcing the court orders, the police and Department of State Services “sealed up the premises” and blocked legitimate officials from accessing their offices.
“The 2nd to 4th defendants have now sealed up the premises of the 1st plaintiff and denied the 2nd and 3rd plaintiffs access to their offices,” the affidavit stated.
The plaintiffs asked the court to declare that INEC, the Inspector-General of Police, the FCT Commissioner of Police, and the DSS are constitutionally bound to enforce the earlier judgments.
They also seek:
An order restraining INEC and security agencies from recognising the Ibadan convention or any decisions taken there;
An order preventing the 6th to 25th defendants from parading themselves as PDP officials;
A directive compelling the security agencies to provide protection for the plaintiffs and grant them access to Wadata Plaza and Legacy House;
An order stopping INEC from accepting any change of the PDP’s official address other than its two Abuja locations.
The plaintiffs further asked the court to determine whether any authority can lawfully recognise the Ibadan convention in view of the subsisting judgments, the Constitution, the Electoral Act, and the PDP Constitution.
The suit has not yet been assigned to a judge, and no date has been fixed for the hearing
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