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

Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise and publish the Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ruling that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to institute the action.

Justice Salim Ibrahim delivered the judgment on Friday, holding that the suit filed by Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Adolphus Wabara, alongside other BoT members and party stakeholders, was incompetent and deprived the court of the jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

The judge also upheld preliminary objections raised by INEC and members of the Wike-backed PDP leadership before striking out the suit in its entirety.

Plaintiffs seek judicial recognition

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was instituted by Senator Adolphus Wabara, 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 Peoples Democratic Party.

The plaintiffs urged the court to determine whether, under Section 287 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Article 32(5)(a)(i) of the PDP Constitution, INEC was under a constitutional obligation to recognise what they described as the party’s Interim National Working Committee headed by Kabiru Turaki.

They specifically sought declarations directing the electoral commission to recognise the Turaki-led interim leadership, update and publish the names of its members on INEC’s official website and accept all official communications issued by the body.

According to the plaintiffs, the reliefs sought were based on earlier judgments of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, which they argued INEC was constitutionally bound to obey.

Court rejects argument

In his judgment, Justice Ibrahim held that the plaintiffs’ case depended entirely on the assumption that INEC was already under a legal obligation to recognise the purported Interim National Working Committee.

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

He ruled that the plaintiffs failed to place sufficient materials before the court to establish that such a legal obligation existed.

The court further held that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate that INEC had ever recognised the Turaki-led interim leadership or that any valid subsisting court order compelled the commission to do so.

Justice Ibrahim also held that the Supreme Court judgment relied upon by the plaintiffs did not amount to an order directing INEC to accord recognition to the Kabiru Turaki-led body.

Locus standi challenged

The court further found that the plaintiffs failed to establish that the purported interim National Working Committee constituted the lawful leadership of the PDP capable of representing the party before INEC.

Consequently, Justice Ibrahim upheld the preliminary objection filed by INEC, ruling that the first to seventh plaintiffs lacked the requisite locus standi to institute and maintain the action.

The judge also sustained objections filed by parties seeking to be joined in the proceedings after first granting their applications for joinder.

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

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

Costs awarded against plaintiffs

Justice Ibrahim also granted a motion seeking to strike out the PDP as the eighth plaintiff in the suit.

On the objections filed by the newly joined defendants, the judge held that they had merit, ruling that the suit invited the court to determine issues that had already been settled in another action and therefore could not be entertained.

Having resolved all the preliminary issues against the plaintiffs, the court held that it lacked jurisdiction to determine the originating summons and consequently struck out the suit.

The court awarded N10 million in costs against the plaintiffs in favour of the defendants.

Justice Ibrahim further directed the counsel who filed the action to personally ensure payment of the costs, explaining that the order was intended to discourage frivolous political litigation.

The judge stated that the decision was made in accordance with the Electoral Act to discourage unnecessary court actions over internal affairs of political parties.

Leadership crisis continues

The judgment represents another development in the protracted leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party.

The dispute 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.

While the Wabara-led plaintiffs argued that previous court judgments imposed a constitutional obligation on INEC to recognise the Turaki-led interim leadership, the court disagreed, holding that they failed to establish both the legal basis for such recognition and their authority to institute the action on behalf of the PDP.

With the ruling, the attempt to secure judicial recognition for the Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee has come to an end, unless a fresh legal challenge is initiated before a higher court.