A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a renewed lawsuit by Senator Samuel Anyanwu seeking recognition as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), bringing another chapter of the party’s long-running leadership crisis to an apparent close.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025, was dismissed on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, after Anyanwu’s lawyer informed the court that the matter had been “overtaken by events”, a reference to the expiration of Anyanwu’s tenure as PDP national secretary late last year.
At the resumed hearing, U. C. Njemanze-Aku, counsel to Anyanwu, told Justice Mohammed Umar that it was no longer appropriate to continue with a suit concerning a position that Anyanwu no longer holds.
“We don’t think it is proper for a matter that has been overtaken by events to continue. In the interest of justice, I apply to withdraw this matter to save the court’s time,” his lawyer said in court.
The judge subsequently dismissed the case, ruling simply: “Since you have joined issues, I am going to dismiss this matter. The matter is hereby dismissed.”
The dispute over the PDP’s national secretary post stems from events after the 2023 Imo State governorship election, where Anyanwu vacated his position as national secretary to run for governor. His unsuccessful bid and subsequent attempt to reclaim the scribe role triggered a bitter internal party dispute, legal action, and competing claims to party office.
In December 2024, the Court of Appeal in Enugu upheld a Federal High Court ruling that removed Anyanwu from office and affirmed Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the legitimate national secretary. Anyanwu challenged that decision at the Supreme Court, leading to months of legal back-and-forth.
Though the Supreme Court later ruled on related aspects of the crisis last year, the leadership tussle continued in courts and within party structures, resulting in factions each asserting authority at the PDP’s National Secretariat.
In Tuesday’s proceedings, attorneys for the defendants, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other party officials, had urged the court to dismiss the suit outright.
Akintayo Balogun, representing INEC, told the court that the matter “ought not to have been instituted in the first place,” and urged dismissal with costs.
Counsel for the other defendants similarly aligned themselves with Balogun’s stance, requesting that Anyanwu bear court costs.
However, in his response, Njemanze-Aku argued that the withdrawal of the suit was necessitated by circumstances beyond his client’s control.
“We owe a duty to the court. It is not fair to penalise the plaintiff,” he said, asking the judge to allow both sides to bear their own costs.
Ultimately, the judge agreed with the withdrawal request and declined all applications for costs, explaining that delays in the case were not attributable to any party.
With the dismissal of this suit, a significant thread of the PDP’s internal legal battle appears to have been severed, at least procedurally. Still, observers say the wider leadership crisis has highlighted deep divisions within the party, involving multiple claimants and repeated challenges across various courts.
Political analysts note that beyond the courtroom, resolving factions within the PDP will likely require sustained dialogue among party leaders and stakeholders to prevent further erosion of public confidence ahead of upcoming elections.
