PDP faction seeks court order to void Ibadan convention, stop INEC from recognising new leaders
A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has filed a suit at the federal high court in Abuja seeking to invalidate the party’s national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2501/2025, the plaintiffs — the PDP, Mohammed Abdulrahman, acting national chairman, and Samuel Anyanwu, national secretary — are asking the court to declare the convention and all decisions taken there as “null, void and of no effect.”
The plaintiffs belong to the PDP bloc loyal to Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Wike, Anyanwu, Ayo Fayose, former Ekiti governor, and eight others were expelled from the party during the Ibadan convention.
The suit also seeks an order restraining INEC and security agencies from recognising the sixth to 25th defendants — including Umar Damagum, Kabiru Turaki and other newly announced national officers — as leaders of the PDP.
In the originating summons, the plaintiffs argue that the Ibadan convention violated three subsisting judgements of the Federal High Court. They cited the judgement of October 31 in FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025 (Austine Nwachukwu v INEC & Ors); the interim order of November 11 and judgement of November 14 in FHC/ABJ/CS/2299/2025 (Sule Lamido v PDP & Ors); and the judgment of May 31, 2023, in FHC/ABJ/CS/139/2023 (Nyesom Wike v PDP & Ors). According to them, the rulings nullified the 21-day notice for the convention and expressly restrained the party from conducting it.
The plaintiffs allege that despite the court orders, the fifth to 25th defendants “organised themselves and their cohorts” to convene a gathering in Ibadan where they purportedly elected national officers and announced suspensions and expulsions of key members.
In an affidavit, Anyanwu said the same group attempted on November 18 to “forcibly take control” of the party’s national secretariat at Wadata Plaza and Legacy House in Abuja but was unsuccessful. He alleged that instead of enforcing the court orders, the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) sealed the buildings and blocked access to the plaintiffs.
“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 are asking 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 judgements and give full effect to their provisions.
They also want the court to restrain all defendants from recognising or giving effect to the Ibadan convention and to prevent the sixth to 25th defendants from parading themselves as officials of the PDP. In addition, they seek orders compelling security agencies to provide them access to Wadata Plaza and Legacy House, and restraining INEC from accepting any change of address for the PDP apart from its existing official locations in Abuja.
They further ask the court to decide whether any authority can lawfully recognise the Ibadan convention in view of the subsisting judgements and the provisions of the constitution, the Electoral Act and the PDP constitution.
The suit is yet to be assigned to a judge, and no hearing date has been set.
