The deepening crisis within Nigeria’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has escalated as a faction loyal to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the police, the Department of State Services (DSS), and rival party leaders, seeking to nullify the recent national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
In suit FHC/ABJ/CS/2501/2025, PDP’s acting national chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman and national secretary Samuel Anyanwu, along with other Wike-aligned plaintiffs, asked the court to declare the Ibadan convention and all resolutions from the event “null, void, and of no effect.” During the disputed convention—held on November 15 and 16—Anyanwu, Wike, former Ekiti State governor Ayo Fayose, and eight other party leaders were expelled from the PDP, further intensifying the struggle for party leadership and direction.
The plaintiffs argued in their originating summons that the convention was convened in violation of multiple subsisting Federal High Court judgments—including rulings delivered on October 31 and November 14, 2025, as well as orders from an earlier decision won by Wike and his allies. Abdulrahman and Anyanwu maintain that “the decisions nullified the 21-day notice issued for the convention and expressly restrained the party from holding the exercise.” The suit claims that, contrary to court orders, “the 5th to 25th defendants organised themselves and their cohorts and convened a gathering in Ibadan where they purportedly elected national officers and announced the suspension or expulsion of several prominent members.”
In an affidavit submitted by Anyanwu, he alleges that the rival faction attempted to “forcibly take control” of the party’s national secretariat in Abuja but was restrained by security agencies, who instead “sealed up” the offices and denied the legitimate officers access. He said, “The 2nd to 4th defendants have now sealed up the premises of the 1st plaintiff and denied the 2nd and 3rd plaintiffs access to their offices.”
The plaintiffs are seeking urgent judicial intervention, requesting orders restraining INEC, the Inspector-General of Police, the FCT Commissioner of Police, and the DSS from recognising the Ibadan convention or any resulting decisions, and from acknowledging the rival chairman, Umar Damagum, or other new executives as party officials. Among their demands is for security agencies to protect their access to Wadata Plaza and Legacy House in Abuja, reaffirming that these are the party’s only legitimate headquarters going forward.
The suit has not been assigned to a judge yet, and a hearing date has not been scheduled, but it lays bare the intense legal battle over control, recognition, and the legitimacy of party processes—setting the stage for further political drama within the PDP.
