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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja to halt proceedings in a suit challenging the Kabiru Turaki-led national executive of the party, saying it was politically motivated rather than based on legal precedent.
The court, presided over by Joyce Abdulmalik, had on Friday halted hearing on the suit pending the determination of an appeal filed by a faction of the party loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
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It was filed by the Wike-backed faction led by its Acting National Chairman, Mohammed Abdulrahman, and Acting National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, seeks to restrain the Turaki-led executive from parading itself as the leadership of the PDP.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2501/2025, the plaintiffs are also asking the court to bar the Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Services (SSS) from allowing the Turaki faction access to the party’s national secretariat, Abuja.
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They further sought an order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or accepting any office address submitted by the Turaki faction other than the one already in INEC’s records.
At the resumed hearing on Friday, the PDP’s counsel, Chris Uche, SAN, applied to withdraw the party’s earlier application for a stay of proceedings. The application was not opposed by the plaintiffs’ counsel, Onyeachi Ikpeazu, SAN, following which the court struck out the application.
However, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the Turaki-led PDP argued that the judge ought to have struck out the case after the it’s counsel informed the court of its decision to discontinue the suit in line with applicable rules.
Mr Ememobong said the court’s action had further heightened the PDP’s fears about judicial impartiality in matters involving the party.
Why PDP withdrew the case
Explaining the party’s decision to discontinue the suit, Mr Ememobong said the PDP had lost confidence in the presiding judge.
He noted that it had earlier written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, expressing concerns over “obvious partiality” of three judges of the Abuja division in matters involving the PDP.
“This case was assigned by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to Justice Joyce Abdulmalik. Before this suit, we had earlier written to the Chief Judge complaining about the obvious partiality of three out of the twelve judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja. In the said letter, we had exhaustively expressed our doubt and complete lack of faith in their capacity to fairly dispense justice in matters where PDP is involved,” he explained.
Mr Ememobong alleged that instead of ruling on the recusal application, the judge opted to hear all pending motions alongside the substantive suit and rule on the recusal at judgment.
“Despite this information, the Chief Judge still assigned our case to her. When we appeared in the matter, we filed a motion for recusal asking that Justice Abdulmalik recuses herself from the matter and return the file to the CJ for reassignment.
“Rather than do the needful which is to take the motion, and rule on it, the Judge ruled that she will manage the case in a way convenient for her , which is to take all the motions (including the motion for recusal) alongside the hearing of the case and at the point of judgement, give her ruling on the motion for recusal before the judgement. This in our view, defeats fair hearing as we have indicated our complete loss of trust in her ability to be fair in the matter, or any other matter concerning the PDP,” he said.
Mr Ememobong explained that the party therefore filed a notice of discontinuance under Order 50 Rule 2(1) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019, which allows a plaintiff to withdraw a suit without leave of court within 14 days of receiving the last statement of defence.
The PDP spokesperson said the court’s decision to dismiss the suit instead of striking it out further deepened the party’s concerns.
“Today, after our counsel informed the Court of our intention to discontinue citing the relevant rules, the judge listened to arguements by all the counsel in the matter and ruled, dismissing instead of striking out our case. This again exacerbates our party’s subsisting fear about the impartiality of the court,” he added.
Mr Ememobong said the party still had respect for the judiciary but urged judges to remain detached from political interests, referencing a warning by late Supreme Court justice, Niki Tobi.
READ ALSO: Court dismisses Anyanwu’s suit on PDP secretaryship
He said, “We will continue to have respect for our judges and the judiciary generally, which is why we want to sincerely remind them of the immortal advice of Justice Niki Tobi JSC (as he then was), “the need for Nigerian judges to maintain a very big distance from politics and politicians. Our constitution forbids any mingling. As Judges, we must obey the Constitution. The two professions do not meet and will never meet at all in our democracy in the discharge of their functions… the expressions, politician and Judge are opposites, so to say, in their functional contents… their waters must never meet in the same way Rivers Niger and Benue meet at the confluence near Lokoja. If they meet, the victim will be democracy most of the time, and that will be bad for sovereign Nigeria… and so Judges should, on no account, dance to the music played by politicians because it will completely destroy their role as independent umpires in the judicial process.”
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