The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered a quick hearing in a case brought by the Adolphus Wabara-led Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Kabir Turaki faction of the PDP against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice Salim Ibrahim gave the order after the plaintiffs' lawyer, Gordy Uche, SAN, told the court that the case is urgent. This urgency is due to INEC’s timeline for the 2027 general elections, which sets July as the deadline for certain actions.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Wabara-led BoT and the PDP filed this new case asking the court to force INEC to recognize the Turaki-led interim National Working Committee (NWC) on its official website.
The plaintiffs also want the court to order INEC to update its records and publish the interim NWC of the party on its official website, as sent by the plaintiffs and the National Executive Committee (NEC).
They stated that they sent the names of the Kabir Turaki-led NWC to INEC in letters dated May 4.
NAN reports that the originating summons, labeled: FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was filed on June 4 by a group of lawyers led by Chris Uche, SAN.
The BoT members who are part of the case are ex-Senate President Adolphus Wabara; BoT Secretary, former Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger; ex-Minister of Information, Jerry Gana; and PDP chieftain, Olabode George, serving as the 1st to 4th plaintiffs.
Other plaintiffs include former Minister of Women Affairs, Maryam Ciroma; another ex-Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Zainab Maina; BoT member and NEC member, Esther Uduehi; and PDP as the 5th to 8th plaintiffs respectively.
They are suing INEC as the only defendant in the case.
When the case was called, Mr. Uche announced that he was representing all the plaintiffs, including the PDP, which is the 8th defendant.
He informed the court that the National Chairman of the faction he represents, Kabir Turaki, SAN, was also present, along with Mr. Gana, the 3rd plaintiff.
Sunday Ameh, SAN, stood up shortly after Mr. Uche and announced his appearance for the 8th plaintiff (PDP).
“I have announced appearance for the 8th plaintiff, and I am surprised that the learned senior counsel has also announced his appearance for the same plaintiff.
“And we have our national chairman here in court,” Mr. Uche said.
This situation caused some confusion in court.
After O.A. Adeyemi announced his appearance for INEC, Adedayo Adedeji, SAN, also stood to announce his appearance for applicants seeking to join the suit.
Mr. Adedeji named the applicants who wanted to be joined as 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants as “Hon. Austin Nwachukwu, Hon. Amah Abraham Nnanna, and Mr. Turnah George.”
Another lawyer, George Ibrahim, SAN, also announced his appearance for parties wanting to join as defendants in the case.
Mr. Ibrahim said he represents Mohammed Abdulrahman, the National Chairman of the PDP faction loyal to Mr. Nyesom Wike, the FCT Minister; Samuel Anyanwu, the National Secretary; and Karmardeen Ajibade, SAN, the party’s National Legal Adviser.
Mr. Uche stated they filed the suit via an originating summons on June 4 with INEC as their only defendant.
He said the commission was properly served.
The lawyer also mentioned receiving two applications for joining from Messrs Adedeji and Ibrahim.
Mr. Uche said he also received a request from Mr. Ameh, seeking a change of counsel.
He found it odd that Mr. Ameh wanted to represent the PDP (8th plaintiff), which he was already representing in court.
Additionally, he received another motion from Mr. Ameh, asking the court to remove the name of the 8th plaintiff (PDP) from the suit.
He noted that he just got this motion before the case began.
INEC’s lawyer, Mr. Adeyemi, confirmed that the commission was served with the plaintiffs’ originating summons on June 11.
He said they were also served with the documents filed by Messrs Ameh, Adedeji, and Ibrahim.
Mr. Ameh stated he was instructed to represent the PDP in the case and that he filed a notice of change of counsel for the 8th plaintiff earlier that morning.
The senior lawyer also filed a motion asking to remove the name of the 8th plaintiff (PDP) from the suit because the party did not authorize it.
“When we get there, your lordship will determine the propriety of the application,” he said.
Adedeji, who filed a motion on notice for parties wanting to join on Thursday, suggested that their application should be decided first before proceeding with the main suit.
Ibrahim echoed this sentiment.
He asked the court to resolve their application for joining before addressing the main issue.
Uche did not object to the idea that the applications for joining and Ameh’s motions should be dealt with first.
He did, however, inform the court that he planned to strongly oppose the applications for joining and the notice for change of counsel, including a motion to remove the PDP’s name filed by Adedeji, Ibrahim, and Ameh.
The lawyer requested a short adjournment to allow him to file his counter-affidavits against all the motions.
Mr. Adeyemi, representing INEC, stated that the commission would not oppose the applications for joining.
He noted that INEC would leave the decision about notice of change of counsel to the court’s discretion.
“We don’t intend to interfere with who represents PDP in this matter, my lord,” Adeyemi said.
Justice Ibrahim then adjourned the matter until June 30 at noon for the hearing of applications for joining, notice for change of counsel, and the motion to strike out the PDP’s name from the suit.
“Because of the urgency of this matter, this court will hereby shorten the time for the quick hearing of the case,” the judge said.
Justice Ibrahim ordered all parties to file their processes and respond on time before the next adjourned date.
“The court will not accept any delay in this suit,” the judge warned.
NAN reports that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja had, on June 3, overturned key parts of a judgement from an Ibadan Federal High Court that recognized a factional caretaker committee in the PDP.
The appellate court decided that the trial court gave a ruling that was never requested by any of the parties involved in the case.
Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, in a unanimous judgement, criticized Justice Uche Agomoh of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, for going beyond the matters presented before the court in the PDP leadership crisis.
Justice Agomoh had, in a judgement delivered on January 30, recognized the caretaker committee led by Abdurahman Mohammed and Samuel Anyanwu of Nyesom Wike’s camp, as the party’s valid leadership group.
However, the Court of Appeal ruled that none of the parties before the lower court had asked for such a declaration.
Meanwhile, the Wabara-led BoT of the PDP, in the suit filed on June 4, sought a declaration that INEC must enforce and give full effect to the decision of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in a case number: CV/1050/2025 between Samuel Anyanwu vs Umar Damagun and eight others delivered on January 12.
They also sought a declaration that the commission is bound by decisions in appeal number CA/ABI/1613/2025, between PDP and two others vs Austine Nwachukwu and eight others delivered on March 9, and appeal numbers SC/CV/164/2026 between PDP vs Sule Lamido and four others and SC/CV/166/2026 between PDP and two others vs Austine Nwachukwu and eight others both delivered on April 30.
They prayed the court to order INEC to accept and act on all official communications, notices, and dealings concerning the party from the interim NWC and for the commission to direct the same from it to the NWC as sent by the plaintiffs and the NEC in letters dated May 4.
In the affidavit supporting the originating summons, ex-Governor Aliyu stated that on November 1, 2025, “key officers of PDP (8th plaintiff) like Sen. Anyanwu, Hon Umar M. Bature, Adeyemi Kamaldeen Ajibade, and Barr. Okechukwu Osuoha were suspended by a resolution of the NWC for gross misconduct, anti-party activities, and insubordination against the 8th plaintiff.”
Mr. Aliyu said that at the 608 meeting of the NWC held on November 1, 2025, their suspension was approved, and they were referred to the National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) for further action.
He said the four affected members deliberately refused to submit themselves to the party’s NDC and continued to act as officers of the party despite having no resolution lifting their suspension.
He mentioned that Mr. Anyanwu was earlier recommended for expulsion as a member of the PDP in a report dated March 10, 2025, submitted by the NDC.
Mr. Aliyu said that the NDC’s recommendation for Mr. Anyanwu’s expulsion was upheld at the 608 meeting of the NWC held on November 1, 2025.
He said after his expulsion, Mr. Anyanwu filed suit number CV/1050/2025 against Mr. Damagun and others at the FCT High Court, challenging his expulsion from the party.
He noted that on January 12, the FCT High Court dismissed Mr. Anyanwu’s claim in that suit.
The ex-governor said the BoT, at its emergency meeting on November 5, 2025, set up a board reconciliation committee in preparation for its national elective convention.
He mentioned that the party held its elective national convention on November 15 and 16, 2025, during which it elected its national officers.
This convention faced several lawsuits that went through the Federal High Court to the Supreme Court.
Mr. Aliyu said the Court of Appeal nullified the convention in appeal number: CA/A8)/1613/2025, between PDP and two others Vs. Austine Nwachukwu and eight others delivered on March 9.
He said the appellate court's judgement also upheld the suspension of the key officers of the PDP mentioned earlier due to the resolution of the party’s NWC.
On further appeal to the Supreme Court, the apex court ruled in appeal numbers: SC/CV/164/2026, between PDP Vs. Sule Lamido and four others and SC/CV/166/2026 between PDP and two others vs Austine Nwachukwu and eight others, both delivered on April 30, affirming the Court of Appeal's judgement, which nullified the PDP convention held on November 15 and 16, 2025.
In addition, he said the apex court's judgement dismissed the cross appeal challenging the suspension of the key officers of the party mentioned earlier.
Mr. Aliyu explained that the resolution of the NWC dated November 1, 2025, which affirmed the suspension of A. K. Ajibade, SAN, was upheld by the Court of Appeal, and the cross appeal against it to the Supreme Court was dismissed, which also suspended A. K. Ajibade, SAN, along with Messrs Anyanwu, Bature, and Osuoha.
“Consequently, due to the vacuum created in the leadership of the 8th plaintiff (PDP) following the judgement of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court that nullified the November 15 and 16, 2025 elective national convention and upheld the suspension of the affected key officers, the BoT, comprising the 1st to 7th plaintiffs formed an interim NWC to manage the 8th plaintiff’s affairs until a valid national convention is held.”
He stated that the creation of the interim NWC was communicated to INEC by the party’s BoT and NEC through their letters dated May 4.
The former governor added that on May 12, the NWC assigned roles to members of the interim NWC as formed by its BoT and NEC, and this was sent to the commission through Exhibits “9” and “10.”
He said INEC was later notified of the roles assigned by the interim NWC in a letter dated May 15.
Aliyu claimed that despite receiving Exhibits “9” and “10” dated May 4 and Exhibit “11” dated May 15, which were written to INEC by the BoT, NEC, and NWC, the top organs of the party, INEC failed to update its records or recognize the interim National Working Committee.
He stated that after INEC did not comply with the letters, further letters were sent through the party’s lawyer, Mr. Uche, on May 8 and 13, urging INEC to act on the existing court judgements.
“That the defendant has continuously failed to comply with the decisions of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court by not updating its records, as it has kept the names of the people who have been lawfully suspended, expelled, and no longer members of the 8th plaintiff, along with other members associated with these suspended and expelled members.”
The ex-governor said he knows for a fact that INEC is legally required to follow valid and existing decisions from the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
He described INEC’s actions as “a serious challenge to the rule of law and the constitution of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”
He said that unless the court intervenes, the defendant will keep ignoring the valid and existing court rulings.
Aliyu concluded that it was in the interest of justice for the court to grant the requests made in the originating summons.
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