A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has nullified the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) National Convention held in the city in November 2025, effectively sacking the National Working Committee (NWC) that emerged from the exercise.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Uche Agomoh ruled that the convention was conducted in clear violation of existing court orders and could not stand in law.
The court consequently set aside all decisions taken at the convention and restrained Aminu Turaki (SAN) and other officers produced by the exercise from presenting themselves as leaders of the party.
The suit, filed by the Turaki-led group, had sought judicial validation of the Ibadan convention held on November 15, 2025, and recognition of the NWC elected at the event.
However, Justice Agomoh held that seeking court approval after acting in defiance of subsisting judgments amounted to an abuse of judicial process.
According to the court, the PDP caretaker committee led by Abdulrahman Mohammed and Samuel Anyanwu remains the only lawful national leadership of the party pending the conduct of a valid national convention in line with the law and the party’s constitution.
“I hold that the caretaker committee is the only lawful governing body of the PDP that the Independent National Electoral Commission should recognise and relate with,” the judge ruled, describing the suit as a bold attempt to legitimise actions already declared illegal by the court.
The judgment followed earlier court interventions, including an order by the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, which had suspended the convention following a suit by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido.
Lamido had challenged the process, alleging he was denied the opportunity to purchase nomination forms to contest for the party’s chairmanship.
Reacting to the ruling, counsel to the PDP caretaker committee, Ferdinand Orbih (SAN), described the decision as a victory for democracy and the rule of law.
He said the judgment reinforced the principle that political actions must align strictly with court orders, warning that disobedience could undermine democratic stability.
However, the Turaki-led faction rejected the verdict and announced plans to challenge it at the appellate court.
In a statement, its spokesman, Ini Ememobong, said the group had instructed its lawyers to file an appeal, insisting that the leadership produced by the Ibadan convention remained valid pending a final judicial determination.
The ruling has once again thrown the PDP’s national leadership crisis into sharp focus, with party stakeholders awaiting the outcome of further legal battles over control of the opposition party’s affairs.
