Federal High Court Suspends PDP Leadership Case Pending Court of Appeal Decision

ByMoses Alamu7 days Ago1 Mins read113

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday suspended proceedings in the ongoing leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), pending the outcome of an appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik made the ruling following a notice of appeal filed by a faction of the party led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Kabiru Turaki. The judge emphasized that once a notice of appeal is filed and the record transmitted, the trial court must exercise restraint. Consequently, the substantive case has been adjourned to February 20 for mention.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2501/2025, seeks to nullify the results of the PDP National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15–16, 2025. Plaintiffs Mohammed Abdulrahman and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, acting National Chairman and National Secretary of the faction loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, named all convention-elected officials as defendants, along with INEC, the Inspector General of Police, the FCT Police Commissioner, and the State Security Service.

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The plaintiffs sought injunctions barring the convention-elected officials from representing themselves as PDP officers and preventing INEC from recognizing them. They also requested security guarantees for the conduct of party business at PDP headquarters in Wadata Plaza, Abuja.

Counsel for the Turaki-led faction, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, argued for an indefinite adjournment, asserting that the filing of an appeal automatically strips the trial court of jurisdiction. Meanwhile, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, representing the Wike-aligned faction, contended that the appeal did not halt proceedings, as the appellate matter was interlocutory.

Following the suspension, Haruna Jangudu, National Publicity Secretary of the Wike-aligned faction, accused opponents of deliberately stalling the case and expressed frustration over repeated claims of judicial bias.

Additionally, the court dismissed a motion by the Turaki faction seeking access to the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja, ruling that all parties had already joined issues.