UPDATED: Court strikes out suit seeking recognition of Turaki-led PDP

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A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday struck out a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise and publish the Kabiru Turaki-led interim National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to institute the action.

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Justice Salim Ibrahim held that the suit, filed by the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Adolphus Wabara, alongside other BoT members and party stakeholders, was incompetent and deprived the court of jurisdiction.

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The judge also upheld preliminary objections raised by INEC and members of the Wike-backed PDP leadership, who had sought to be joined in the proceedings, before striking out the case.

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The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was instituted by Wabara; the Secretary of the PDP Board of Trustees, Muazu Babangida Aliyu; Prof. Jerry Gana; Chief Olabode George; Hajiya Maryam Ciroma; Hajiya Zainab Maina; Dame Esther Uduehi; and the PDP.

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The plaintiffs had asked the court to determine whether, by virtue of Section 287 of the Constitution and Article 32(5)(a)(i) of the PDP Constitution, INEC was under a constitutional obligation to recognise and give effect to what they described as the party’s Interim National Working Committee.

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Specifically, they sought declarations that INEC was bound to recognise the Kabiru Turaki-led interim NWC, update and publish the names of its members on the commission’s website, and accept all official communications emanating from the body.

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They argued that the reliefs sought flowed from earlier decisions of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, which they claimed INEC was constitutionally bound to obey under Section 287 of the Constitution.

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However, while delivering judgment, Justice Ibrahim held that the plaintiffs’ case rested entirely on the assumption that INEC was already under a legal obligation to recognise the purported interim NWC, an assumption they failed to establish.

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The judge stated, “The plaintiffs’ case therefore depends on whether there remains an undisputed legal obligation on INEC to recognise the alleged Interim National Working Committee.”

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The court held that the plaintiffs failed to place sufficient material before it to demonstrate that such a legal obligation existed.

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Justice Ibrahim further held that the plaintiffs also failed to establish that INEC had at any time recognised the purported interim NWC or that there was any subsisting court order directing the electoral umpire to do so.

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The judge said the Supreme Court judgment relied upon by the plaintiffs did not amount to an order compelling INEC to accord recognition to the Turaki-led body.

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He also found that the plaintiffs failed to show that the purported interim NWC constituted the lawful leadership of the PDP capable of representing the party in dealings with INEC.

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Consequently, the court upheld the preliminary objection filed by INEC, ruling that the 1st to 7th plaintiffs lacked the requisite locus standi to institute and maintain the action.

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Justice Ibrahim also sustained the objections raised by the parties seeking to be joined in the suit.

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Before determining the substantive objections, the court granted applications by the Wike-backed PDP leadership to be joined as defendants.

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Those joined were Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed, identified as the National Chairman of the Wike-backed PDP faction; Senator Samuel Anyanwu, National Secretary and the party’s National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade.

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The court also granted separate applications filed by Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah Nnanna and George Turnah, holding that they were necessary parties whose interests would be affected by the outcome of the proceedings.

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Justice Ibrahim held that the applications for joinder were meritorious and accordingly granted them.

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The court, however, granted a motion seeking to strike out the PDP as the 8th plaintiff in the suit.

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On the objections filed by the newly joined defendants, the judge held that they had merit.

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He ruled that the suit invited the court to adjudicate on issues that had already been settled in another action and therefore could not be entertained.

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Having resolved all the preliminary issues against the plaintiffs, the judge held that the court lacked jurisdiction to determine the originating summons.

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He consequently struck out the suit in its entirety.

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After striking out the suit, Justice Ibrahim awarded N10m costs against the plaintiffs in favour of the defendants.

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The judge also directed counsel who filed the action to personally pay the costs, saying the order was intended to discourage frivolous political cases.

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“The court shall be awarding N10m costs against the plaintiffs to all the defendants, to the 1st to the 7th defendants.

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“The counsel on record that filed this matter is also to do the needful, and pay N10 million costs,” the judge held.

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Justice Ibrahim said the order was made “according to the Electoral Act, to ensure that frivolous applications are not filed by counsel and litigants, because this is purely an internal affair of the political party as ruled by this honourable court, and I stand by that.”

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The judgment represents a setback for the Wabara-led Board of Trustees’ effort to secure judicial backing for the recognition of the Kabiru Turaki-led interim National Working Committee.

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The case stemmed from the protracted leadership crisis within the PDP, which has pitched the party’s Board of Trustees against the camp loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over the control of the party’s National Working Committee.

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The Wabara-led plaintiffs had anchored their case on Section 287 of the Constitution, arguing that INEC, as a public authority, was constitutionally bound to obey and enforce existing court judgments relating to the PDP leadership dispute.

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Relying on previous judicial decisions, they contended that the electoral commission could not ignore what they described as the legal effect of those judgments and was under a mandatory duty to recognise the interim leadership communicated to it by the plaintiffs.

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The court, however, rejected the argument, holding that the plaintiffs failed to establish both the legal foundation for INEC’s alleged obligation and their own authority to maintain the action on behalf of the party, thereby bringing the proceedings to an end.

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