A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has filed a suit at the federal high court in Abuja to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the party’s recent national convention in Ibadan.
The legal action was brought by the PDP, its acting national chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman, and national secretary Samuel Anyanwu.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2501/2025, the faction is urging the court to declare the convention held on 15 and 16 November “null, void and of no effect”. Several prominent figures, including Wike, Anyanwu and former Ekiti governor Ayo Fayose, were expelled at the Ibadan gathering.
The plaintiffs argue that the convention was organised in clear defiance of three existing court rulings, including judgments delivered on 31 October, 11 November and 14 November, which they say invalidated the 21-day notice issued for the meeting and temporarily barred the party from going ahead with the exercise.
They also referenced a separate judgment delivered in May 2023 in a case involving Wike and the PDP, insisting that all the decisions collectively restrained the party from convening the convention.
In their court filings, the plaintiffs accuse senior party officials of disregarding these orders and proceeding to elect new national officers and announce suspensions and expulsions.
They claim that after the convention, the group that organised the Ibadan meeting attempted to “forcibly” take control of the PDP national secretariat at Wadata Plaza and the Legacy House office in Abuja.
Samuel Anyanwu, in an affidavit, alleged that instead of enforcing the subsisting court orders, the police and the Department of State Services sealed both buildings and barred officers recognised by the court from entering.
According to him, the legitimate leaders of the party were denied access to their offices, while the faction they are challenging continued to receive security protection.
The suit asks the court to determine whether INEC, the police and the DSS are obliged to enforce previous judgments affecting the convention and whether any authority can legally recognise the results of the Ibadan meeting in light of those rulings and the provisions of the constitution, the Electoral Act and the PDP’s own constitution.
The plaintiffs also want the court to restrain the leaders elected in Ibadan from presenting themselves as party officials and to direct security agencies to grant them access to the party’s Abuja offices. Another request seeks to stop INEC from accepting any change to the PDP’s official address.
The case has not yet been assigned to a judge, and no date has been fixed for the hearing.