The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has initiated a legal action at the federal high court in Abuja, aiming to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the national convention held in Ibadan on November 15 and 16.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/25012025, the party — alongside Mohammed Abdulrahman, acting national chairman, and Samuel Anyanwu, national secretary — is urging the court to declare the convention and all resolutions taken there as “null, void and of no effect”.
The litigants are members of the PDP aligned with Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Anyanwu, Wike, Ayo Fayose, former Ekiti governor, and eight other party figures were expelled from the PDP during the Ibadan convention.
The plaintiffs are also requesting an order restraining INEC and security agencies from recognising the sixth to 25th defendants — including Umar Damagum, Kabiru Turaki, the new national chairman, and other key members — as legitimate PDP officials.
In the originating summons, they contend that the convention was conducted in defiance of three subsisting judgements of the federal high court.
They pointed to the judgement of October 31 in FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025: Austine Nwachukwu v INEC & Ors; the interim order of November 11 and the judgement of November 14 in FHC/ABJ/CS/2299/2025: Alhaji Sule Lamido v PDP & Ors; and the ruling of May 31, 2023, in FHC/ABJ/CS/139/2023: Nyesom Wike v PDP & Ors.
The plaintiffs argue that these decisions invalidated the 21-day notice issued for the convention and explicitly barred the party from proceeding with it.
They allege that despite the court orders, the fifth to 25th defendants “organised themselves and their cohorts” and held a gathering in Ibadan where they purportedly elected national officers and announced suspensions or expulsions of notable members.
‘AN ATTEMPT TO FORCEFULLY TAKE OVER PDP SECRETARIAT’
In an affidavit deposed by Anyanwu, the national secretary claimed that on November 18, the group attempted to “forcibly take control” of the PDP national secretariat at Wadata Plaza and Legacy House in Abuja but failed.
He said that rather than enforcing the court’s directives, the police and Department of State Services (DSS) “sealed up” the secretariat and blocked recognised party officials from accessing the premises.
According to him, “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.”
WHAT THE PLAINTIFFS WANT
The plaintiffs want the court to affirm that INEC, the inspector-general of police, the FCT commissioner of police, and the DSS are constitutionally obligated to enforce the earlier judgements and fully implement their provisions.
They are also seeking an order barring the defendants from recognising or acting upon the Ibadan convention or any of its outcomes, and preventing the sixth to 25th defendants from presenting themselves as PDP officials.
Additionally, they want security agencies directed to provide adequate protection and grant them access to Wadata Plaza and Legacy House to run party affairs.
They further request that INEC be restrained from accepting any new address for the PDP aside from the two original official locations in Abuja.
The plaintiffs also seek the court’s clarification on whether any authority can lawfully recognise the Ibadan convention given the subsisting judgements and the provisions of the constitution, Electoral Act, and PDP constitution.
The case is yet to be assigned to a judge, and no hearing date has been scheduled.