The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has struck out a suit filed by members of the Senator Adolphus Wabara-led Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise and publish the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN-led interim National Working Committee of the party.
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Justice Salim Ibrahim, in a judgment delivered on Friday, held that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to institute the action and consequently struck out the suit for want of jurisdiction.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was filed by Wabara and other PDP chieftains who asked the court to compel INEC to update its database and publish on its official website the interim NWC allegedly forwarded to the commission by the party’s National Executive Committee.
The plaintiffs claimed that the names of members of the Turaki-led interim national executive were sent to INEC through letters dated May 4, 2026.
They also sought an order directing INEC to give effect to all official correspondence from the interim NWC.
Apart from Wabara, the plaintiffs included the Secretary of the factional BoT and former Niger State Governor, Muazu Babangida Aliyu; former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana; PDP chieftain, Olabode George; former Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Maryam Ciroma; former Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina; and BoT and NEC member, Dame Esther Uduehi.
The PDP was also listed as a plaintiff, while INEC was named as the sole defendant.
The action was filed on June 4 through a legal team led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN.
The plaintiffs had asked the court to determine whether, by virtue of Section 287(1), (2) and (3) of the 1999 Constitution, INEC was not bound to give effect to various judgments relating to the leadership crisis within the PDP.
They also asked the court to determine whether, having regard to Article 32 of the PDP Constitution as amended in 2017, INEC was obligated to recognise the interim NWC forwarded by them.
However, INEC filed a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit.
The faction of the PDP aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, also approached the court to challenge its jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
The Wike-backed faction, led by Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed, insisted that it was the authentic leadership of the PDP and argued that the plaintiffs lacked the authority to sue on behalf of the party.
Those who sought to be joined in the suit included Mohammed; the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu; and the National Legal Adviser, Kamardeen Ajibade.
Others were a former PDP Chairman in Imo State, Austin Nwachukwu; Abraham Amah; and George Turner.
They urged the court to strike out the name of the PDP from the suit, arguing that the party did not authorise the action.
They also told the court that they were the bona fide national officers of the party, having been elected at a convention held from March 29 to 30, 2026.
The Wabara-led plaintiffs opposed the joinder applications, arguing that the applicants were persons whose expulsion from the party had been upheld by court judgments.
They also contended that no valid convention of the PDP was held in Abuja in March.
Before delivering judgment, Justice Ibrahim held that the joinder applications were meritorious because the interests of the applicants would be affected by the outcome of the suit.
The court then upheld the preliminary objections filed by INEC and the interested parties.
Justice Ibrahim held that the plaintiffs failed to establish that INEC had recognised the purported interim NWC or that they had the authority to sue on behalf of the PDP.
The court also struck out the name of the PDP from the suit after finding that the plaintiffs did not show that they were authorised to institute the action in the party’s name.
Justice Ibrahim further held that the suit amounted to an abuse of court process, saying the plaintiffs were attempting to use the action to reopen issues already determined by courts.
The court said granting the plaintiffs’ request would amount to making an order that could undermine subsisting judgments.
It also held that the matter had become academic because there was evidence that the PDP convention which produced the Mohammed-led executives was monitored by INEC.
“The court does not decide hypothetical or academic questions,” Justice Ibrahim held.
The judge added that the suit was incompetent because it was filed by originating summons despite the contentious nature of the dispute.
The court also took cognisance of existing judgments said to have nullified the PDP convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, which produced the Turaki-led executives.
Justice Ibrahim consequently upheld the objections and struck out the suit for want of jurisdiction.
The ruling leaves unresolved the internal battle for control of the PDP’s national leadership and INEC portal ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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