ABUJA, Nigeria — A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the Kabiru Turaki-led interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), dealing a setback to the faction and upholding INEC’s recognition of the leadership loyal to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike.
Justice Salim Ibrahim, in a judgment delivered on Friday, struck out the suit filed by the Senator Adolphus Wabara-led Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, describing it as “an abuse of court process, unmeritorious and lacking in merit.” The judge held that the plaintiffs failed to prove any entitlement to the reliefs sought and lacked the legal standing required to institute the case on behalf of the party.
The plaintiffs, which included former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, former Information Minister Prof. Jerry Gana, and Chief Olabode George, had asked the court to compel INEC to update its records and publish the names of the Turaki-led interim NWC, arguing that the names were forwarded to the electoral umpire via letters dated May 4. The suit was filed on June 4 by a legal team led by Chief Chris Uche (SAN).
However, the Wike-backed faction, led by National Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed and National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu, challenged the court’s jurisdiction and the plaintiffs’ locus standi, arguing that the dispute was an internal party affair already settled by the Supreme Court. Justice Ibrahim upheld their preliminary objections and struck out the suit for want of jurisdiction.
In his ruling, the judge affirmed the leadership of the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led PDP faction. He also struck out the PDP’s name as a plaintiff, agreeing that the action was not authorised by the party. The court further held that granting the reliefs sought would undermine subsisting court judgments and described the matter as academic, noting that INEC had duly monitored the convention that produced the Mohammed-led executives.
The judge also took cognisance of existing judgments that nullified the PDP convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025, which produced the Turaki-led executives.
The judgment leaves INEC’s recognition of the Wike-backed PDP leadership intact ahead of the 2027 general election. However, the Turaki-led faction has indicated it will appeal the ruling. In a statement issued on Friday, the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said the group would challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal.
