PDP Turaki Faction Crumbles in Court: Appeal Court Showdown Looms!

A Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Salim Olasupo Ibrahim, on Friday struck out a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize and publish the names of the Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee (INWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This ruling further deepens the ongoing leadership crisis within the prominent political party, as the Turaki-led faction has indicated its intention to appeal the judgment.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was filed on June 4 by a team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN. The plaintiffs primarily comprised members of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), led by its Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara. Other notable plaintiffs included former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, ex-Minister of Information Prof. Jerry Gana, PDP chieftain Olabode George, former Minister of Women Affairs Hajiya Maryam Ciroma, ex-Minister Hajiya Zainab Maina, and BoT/NEC member Dame Esther Uduehi. The PDP itself was also listed as a plaintiff (8th plaintiff).

The plaintiffs sought an order from the court compelling INEC to recognize the Kabiru Turaki-led INWC faction as the authentic leadership of the party and to forthwith update its records and publish their names on its official website, as forwarded to the electoral umpire via letters dated May 4.

Originally, INEC was the sole defendant in the suit. However, the PDP faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike, approached the court and challenged its jurisdiction to hear the matter. This Wike-backed faction, led by National Chairman Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed, National Secretary Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, and National Legal Adviser Kamardeen Ajibade, was granted permission to join the suit as 2nd to 4th defendants. Additionally, Joseph Daudu, SAN, represented Austin Nwachukwu (former Imo State PDP chairman), Abraham Amah, and George Turner, who were also joined as 5th to 7th defendants. All intervening parties prayed the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.

In his judgment, Justice Ibrahim upheld the preliminary objections raised by INEC and the other defendants, ruling that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter. The judge held that the dispute bordered on the leadership of the PDP, which he deemed an internal affair of the political party. He further ruled that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to institute the suit on behalf of the PDP, having failed to establish that INEC had recognized the purported interim NWC or that they had obtained the party’s authorization to sue in its name. Justice Ibrahim also noted that the reliefs sought had become academic and would conflict with existing court judgments, stressing that the convention which produced the current party leadership was monitored by INEC. He concluded that the suit was incompetent because it was commenced by originating summons despite the contentious nature of the issues involved.

Justice Ibrahim awarded costs of N10 million against the plaintiffs to the 1st to 7th defendants and an additional N10 million against the counsel on record who filed the matter. The judge emphasized that this decision was in accordance with the Electoral Act, intended to deter frivolous applications from counsels and litigants in matters deemed internal affairs of political parties.

The striking out of the suit signifies that INEC will continue to recognize the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party chaired by Honourable Abdulrahman Mohammed, which is backed by Mr. Nyesom Wike. This faction had already been granted access codes by INEC to upload the names of its presidential and National Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections to its portal, an exercise that closed on July 14, three days before the initial July 17 ultimatum for uploading candidates' names for the 2027 general elections.

Reacting to the judgment, the Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee expressed its respect for the trial court’s decision but voiced strong disagreement with its conclusions. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the faction stated that it considered the judgment to be against extant rulings of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court on similar issues. The faction’s lawyers have been instructed to immediately challenge the judgment before the Court of Appeal. Ememobong asserted their belief in the