By Abiola Olawale
The deepening leadership crisis within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has continued to escalate as a faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, has filed a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigeria Police Force.
The action, filed in a Federal High Court, challenges the validity of a recent factional national convention and seeks judicial control over the party’s national secretariat.
The Wike’s faction, in the lawsuit, is seeking to stop INEC from recognising the national convention held in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, on November 15 and 16.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/25012025, the plaintiffs, alongside Mohammed Abdulrahman, acting factional national chairman, and Samuel Anyanwu, factional national secretary, are asking the court to declare the convention and all decisions taken at the event as “null, void and of no effect”.
The plaintiffs are also seeking an order restraining security agencies and INEC from recognising the sixth to 25th defendants — including Umar Damagum, Kabiru Turaki, the new national chairman, and other prominent members — as PDP officials.
In the originating summons, the plaintiffs argue that the Ibadan convention was conducted in flagrant disregard of three subsisting judgements of the Federal High Court.
They referred to the judgment delivered on October 31 in FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025: between Austine Nwachukwu v INEC & Ors; as well as the interim order of November 11 and judgment of November 14 in FHC/ABJ/CS/2299/2025 between Alhaji Sule Lamido v PDP & Ors.
They also cited the judgment delivered on May 31, 2023, in FHC/ABJ/CS/139/2023: Nyesom Wike v PDP & Ors.
The plaintiffs submitted that the various decisions had nullified the 21-day notice issued for the national convention and had expressly restrained the party from conducting the exercise.
They allege that despite the court rulings, the fifth to 25th defendants “organised themselves and their cohorts” and convened a gathering in Ibadan where they purportedly elected national officers and announced the suspension or expulsion of some prominent party members.
The suit is yet to be assigned to a judge, and no date has been fixed for the hearing.
