A Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise and publish the names of the Kabiru Turaki-led interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Delivering judgment, Justice Salim Ibrahim held that the plaintiffs, led by PDP Board of Trustees Chairman Adolphus Wabara, lacked the legal capacity to institute the action. The court consequently struck out the suit for want of jurisdiction.
Justice Ibrahim upheld INEC’s preliminary objection and sustained similar objections filed by parties seeking to join the matter. He ruled that the plaintiffs failed to prove that INEC had recognised the purported interim NWC or that they had the authority to sue on behalf of the PDP.
The suit was filed by members of the Wabara-led Board of Trustees, who asked the court to order INEC to update its records and recognise the interim NWC headed by Kabiru Turaki (SAN). They also sought an order directing the electoral body to publish the names of the interim executives on its official website.
The plaintiffs had argued that the names of members of the Turaki-led leadership were submitted to INEC through letters dated May 4, insisting that the electoral commission was legally required to recognise the correspondence in line with constitutional provisions and the PDP Constitution.
Other plaintiffs in the suit included former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Prof. Jerry Gana, Chief Olabode George, Hajiya Maryam Ciroma, Hajiya Zainab Maina, Dame Esther Uduehi and the PDP.
INEC was the sole defendant in the suit, which was filed on June 4 by a legal team led by Chris Uche (SAN).
However, a faction of the PDP aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, challenged the suit and applied to be joined as parties. The group, led by its National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, argued that it represented the authentic leadership of the party and maintained that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to file the case.
In a ruling delivered before the substantive judgment, Justice Ibrahim granted the joinder applications, stating that the applicants had interests that could be affected by the outcome of the case.
The court later upheld the preliminary objections and struck out the suit, describing it as an abuse of court process. The judge held that the plaintiffs were attempting to reopen issues that had already been determined by other courts.
The court also removed the PDP as a party to the suit, ruling that the plaintiffs did not have the party’s authorisation to institute the action in its name.
Justice Ibrahim said the case sought orders that could undermine existing judgments and noted that the matter had become academic. He added that evidence before the court showed that the PDP convention that produced the Mohammed-led executives was monitored by INEC.
“The court does not decide hypothetical or academic questions,” the judge held.
The court further ruled that the suit was incompetent because it was filed through Originating Summons despite involving disputed facts requiring a different legal process.
Justice Ibrahim also considered previous judgments that nullified the PDP convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, which produced the Turaki-led executives.
The court upheld the respondents’ arguments and dismissed the suit.
Invoking Section 83(6)(b) of the Electoral Act 2026, the court awarded a cost of N70 million against the plaintiffs in favour of the first to seventh defendants. It also ordered the plaintiffs’ counsel to personally pay N10 million in costs.
The judge said the penalties were intended to discourage the filing of frivolous pre-election matters.
