PDP Crisis: Drama in court over legal representation as court grants accelerated hearing

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday ordered an accelerated hearing in a suit filed by Adolphus Wabara-led Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Kabir Turaki faction of the PDP against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Justice Salim Ibrahim gave the order after counsel to the plaintiffs, Gordy Uche, SAN, informed the court that the suit is time-bound, based on INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections, which set July as the ultimatum.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that members of the Wabara-led BoT and the PDP had filed the fresh suit seeking an order of the court compelling INEC to recognise the Turaki-led interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the party on its official website.

The plaintiffs also sought an order directing the electoral umpire to forthwith update its records and publish on its official website the interim NWC of the party, as forwarded to it by the plaintiffs and its National Executive Committee (NEC).

They said the names of members of the Kabir Turaki-led NWC were forwarded to the electoral umpire via their letters dated 4 May.

NAN reports that the originating summons, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was filed on 4 June by a team of lawyers led by Chris Uche, SAN.

The BoT members, who are plaintiffs in the suit, are ex-Senate President Adolphus Wabara; BoT Secretary, former Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger; ex-Minister of Information, Jerry Gana and PDP chieftain, Olabode George, as 1st to 4th plaintiffs.

Others are former Minister of Women Affairs, Maryam Ciroma; another ex-Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Zainab Maina; member of BoT and NEC, Esther Uduehi; and PDP as the 5th to 8th plaintiffs respectively.

They sued INEC as the sole defendant.

When the case was called, Mr Uche announced appearance for all the plaintiffs, including the PDP, which is the 8th defendant.

The lawyer informed the court that the National Chairman of the faction he represented, Kabir Turaki, SAN, was also in court, as was Mr Gana, the 3rd plaintiff in the case.

Sunday Ameh, SAN, also stood up shortly after Mr Uche made his appearance and also announced his appearance for the 8th plaintiff (PDP).

“I have announced appearance for the 8th plaintiff, and I am surprised that the learned senior counsel also announced his appearance for the same plaintiff.

“And we have our national chairman here in court,” Mr Uche said.

The development, however, generated some confusion in court.

After O.A. Adeyemi announced his appearance for INEC, Adedayo Adedeji, SAN, also stood up to announce his appearance for applicants/parties seeking to be joined in the suit.

Mr Adedeji mentioned the names of the applicants who sought to be joined as 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants in the suit as “Hon. Austin Nwachukwu, Hon. Amah Abraham Nnanna and Mr Turnah George.”

Another lawyer, George Ibrahim, SAN, also announced his appearance for parties seeking to be joined as defendants in the matter.

Mr Ibrahim said he represents Mohammed Abdulrahman, the National Chairman of the PDP faction loyal to Mr Nyesom Wike, the FCT Minister; Samuel Anyanwu, the National Secretary; and Karmardeen Ajibade, SAN, the party’s National Legal Adviser.

Speaking, Mr Uche said they filed the suit via an originating summons on 4 June with INEC as their sole defendant.

He said the commission had been duly served.

The lawyer equally said that he had also received two applications for joinder from Messrs Adedeji and Ibrahim.

Mr Uche said he also received an application from Mr Ameh, seeking a change of counsel.

He said he found it strange that Mr Ameh wanted to appear for the PDP (8th plaintiff), which he was representing in court.

Besides, he said he received another motion from Mr Ameh, praying the court to strike out the name of the 8th plaintiff (PDP) in the suit.

He said he was just served with the motion before the case commenced.

INEC’s lawyer, Mr Adeyemi, admitted the commission was served with the plaintiffs’ originating summons on 11 June.

He said they were also served with processes filed by Messrs Ameh, Adedeji and Ibrahim.

Mr Ameh said he had instructions to represent the PDP in the suit and that he had filed a notice of change of counsel for the 8th plaintiff earlier in the morning.

The senior lawyer said he also filed a motion on notice seeking the striking out of the name of the 8th plaintiff (PDP) from the suit because the party did not authorise it.

“When we get there, your lordship will determine the proprietness of the application,” he said.

Adedeji, who said he filed a motion on notice for parties seeking to be joined on Thursday, submitted that their application should be taken and decided first before proceeding in the main suit.

Ibrahim also spoke in the same vein.

He prayed the court to determine their application for joinder before going into the substantive matter.

Uche did not oppose the submission that the applications for joinder and Ameh’s motions be determined first.

He, however, informed the court that he planned to vehemently oppose the applications for joinder and notice for change of counsel, including a motion to strike out the PDP’s name filed by Adedeji, Ibrahim and Ameh.

The lawyer, who sought a short adjournment, said this would enable him to file his counter-affidavits against all the processes.

Mr Adeyemi, who appeared for INEC, said the commission would not oppose the applications for joinder.

He said the electoral umpire would also leave the issue of notice of change of counsel to the court’s discretion.

“We don’t intend to dabble into who to represent PDP in this matter, my lord,” Adeyemi said.

Justice Ibrahim consequently adjourned the matter until 30 June at noon for the hearing of applications for joinder, notice for change of counsel and motion to strike out the name of PDP from the suit.

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“Therefore, because of the urgency of this matter, this court will hereby abridge the time for the expeditious hearing of the matter,” the judge said.

Justice Ibrahim, then, ordered all the parties to ensure that they file their processes and they respond within time before the next adjourned date.

“The court will not entertain any act of delay in this suit,” the judge warned.

NAN reports that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja had, on 3 June, set aside key aspects of an Ibadan Federal High Court judgement that recognised a factional caretaker committee in the PDP.

The appellate court held that the trial court granted relief that was never sought by any of the parties to the suit.

Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, in a unanimous judgement, faulted Justice Uche Agomoh of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, for going beyond the issues placed before the court in a dispute arising from the PDP leadership crisis.

Justice Agomoh had, in a judgment delivered on Jan. 30, recognised the caretaker committee led by Abdurahman Mohammed and Samuel Anyanwu of Nyesom Wike’s camp, as the legitimate leadership faction of the party.

However, the Court of Appeal held that none of the parties before the lower court had sought such a declaration.

Meanwhile, the Wabara-led BoT of the PDP, in the suit filed on 4 June, sought a declaration that INEC is constitutionally bound to enforce and give full effect to the decision of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in a suit number: CV/1050/2025 between Samuel Anyanwu vs Umar Damagun and eight others delivered on 12 January.

They sought a declaration that the commission is also bound by decisions in appeal number CA/ABI/1613/2025, between PDP and two others vs Austine Nwachukwu and eight others delivered on 9 March, and appeal numbers SC/CV/164/2026 between PDP vs Sule Lamido and four others and SC/CV/166/2026 between PDP and two others vs Austine Nwachukwu and eight others both delivered on 30 April.

They, therefore, prayed the court for an order directing INEC to accept and give effect to all official correspondences, communications, notices and engagements concerning the party from the interim NWC and for the commission to direct the same emanating from it to the NWC as forwarded to it by the plaintiffs and the NEC vide their letters dated 4 May.

In the affidavit in support of the originating summons, deposed to by ex-Governor Aliyu, he said on 1 November 2025, “key officers of PDP (8th plaintiff) like Sen. Anyanwu, Hon Umar M. Bature, Adeyemi Kamaldeen Ajibade and Barr. Okechukwu Osuoha were suspended by a resolution of the NWC for gross misconduct, anti-party activities and insubordination against the 8th plaintiff.”

Mr Aliyu said that at the 608 meeting of the NWC held on 1 November 2025, their suspension was approved, and they were referred to the National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) for further action.

He said the four affected members deliberately refused, failed, and neglected to submit themselves to the party’s NDC and continued to act as officers of the party even when there was no resolution lifting their suspension.

He said that Mr Anyanwu was earlier recommended for expulsion as a member of the PDP by a report dated 10 March 2025 submitted by the NDC.

Mr Aliyu said, subsequently, the NDC’s recommendation for the expulsion of Mr Anyanwu was upheld at the 608 meeting of the NWC held on 1 November 2025.

He said upon his expulsion, Mr Anyanwu filed suit number CV/1050/2025 against Mr Damagun and others at the FCT High Court, challenging his expulsion as a member of the party.

He averred that on 12 January, the FCT High Court delivered its judgment, dismissing Mr Anyanwu’s claim in the said suit on the merits.

The ex-governor said the BoT, at its emergency meeting held on 5 November 2025, constituted the board reconciliation committee in preparation for its national elective convention.

He said the party held its elective national convention on 15 and 16 November 2025, during which it elected its national officers.

According to him, the convention was the subject of several litigations that went through the Federal High Court to the Supreme Court.

Mr Aliyu said the convention was nullified by the Court of Appeal in appeal number: CA/A8)/1613/2025, between PDP and two others Vs. Austine Nwachukwu and eight others delivered on March 9.

He said the judgment of the appellate court also affirmed the suspension of the key officers of the PDP referred to in paragraph 11 by virtue of the resolution of the party’s NWC.

He said on further appeal to the Supreme Court, the apex court, in its judgment in appeal numbers: SC/CV/164/2026, between PDP Vs. Sule Lamido and four others and SC/CV/166/2026, between PDP and two others vs Austine Nwachukwu and eight others, both delivered on 30 April, also affirmed the Appeal Court judgment, nullifying the convention of the PDP held on 15 and 16 November 2025.

In addition, he said the apex court judgment further dismissed the cross appeal, challenging the suspension of the key officers of the party mentioned in paragraph 11 supra.

Mr Aliyu said the resolution of the NWC dated 1 November 2025, upon which the suspension of A. K. Ajibade, SAN, was affirmed by the Court of Appeal and cross appeal against the same to the Supreme Court was dismissed, suspended A. K. Ajibade, SAN, alongside Messrs Anyanwu, Bature and Osuoha.

“Consequent, upon the vacuum created in the leadership structure of the 8th plaintiff (PDP) following the judgment of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court nullifying the 15th and 16th November, 2025 elective national convention of the 8th plaintiff and which also upheld the suspension of the affected key officers of the 8th plaintiff, the BoT, comprising the 1st to 7th plaintiffs constituted an interim NWC mandated to oversee the affairs of the 8th plaintiff pending the conduct of a valid national convention.”

He said the constitution of the interim NWC was communicated to INEC by the party’s BOT and NEC through their letters dated Monday, 4 May, respectively.

The former governor said, consequently, the NWC, at its meeting held on 12 May, assigned portfolios to members of the interim NWC as constituted by its BoT and NEC, as was forwarded to the commission vide Exhibits “9” and “10” respectively.

He said the electoral umpire was subsequently notified of the assignment of the portfolios by the interim NWC’s letter dated May 15.

Aliyu, however, said that despite the receipt of Exhibits “9” and “10” dated May 4 and Exhibit “11” dated May 15, written to INEC by the BoT, NEC and NWC, which are the highest organs of the party “on the constitutional and administrative steps taken pursuant to Article 32(5)(c) of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017), the defendant failed, refused and neglected to effect the necessary corrections in its records or accord recognition to the interim National Working Committee.”

He said that upon the non-compliance with the letters, further letters were written through the party’s lawyer, Mr Uche, on 8 and 13 May, urging INEC to give effect to the subsisting judgment of the courts.

“That the defendant has consistently failed and refused to obey and give effect to the decisions of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court by effecting the necessary corrections in its record, as it has continued to retain the name of the persons who have been lawfully suspended, expelled and ceased to be members of the 8th plaintiff, along with other members constituted by these suspended and expelled members.”

The ex-governor said he knew as a fact that INEC is under a constitutional and legal obligation to comply with valid and subsisting judgments of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

He described INEC’s actions as “a grave affront to the rule of law and the supremacy of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”

He said that unless the court intervenes, the defendant will continue to disregard the valid and subsisting judgments of the courts.

Aliyu said it was in the interest of justice for the court to grant the reliefs sought in the originating summons.

(NAN)