“Court Awards ₦140m Against Wabara-Led PDP BoT, ₦10m Against Counsel” — Turaki Faction Vows Appeal After Leadership Suit Is Dismissed

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has awarded ₦140 million in costs against members of the Senator Adolphus Wabara-led Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party for filing what the court described as a frivolous suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission and other parties over the leadership of the PDP.

Justice Salim Ibrahim also ordered counsel to the plaintiffs, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, to personally pay ₦10 million as costs, warning against the filing of frivolous suits concerning the internal affairs of political parties.

Delivering judgment on Friday, the court dismissed the suit as “an abuse of court process, unmeritorious and lacking in merit.”

Justice Ibrahim agreed with the defendants that “cost follows event” and held that the award of costs was in line with Section 83(6)(b) of the Electoral Act, 2026.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was filed on June 4 by members of the Wabara-led BoT through a team of lawyers led by Uche.

The plaintiffs had asked the court to compel INEC to recognise the factional interim National Working Committee of the PDP led by Kabiru Turaki, SAN, and publish the names of its members on the commission’s official website.

They claimed that the names of members of the Turaki-led NWC were forwarded to INEC through letters dated May 4, 2026.

The plaintiffs included former Senate President Adolphus Wabara; BoT Secretary and former Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu; former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana; and PDP chieftain, Olabode George.

Others were former Minister of Women Affairs, Maryam Ciroma; former Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Zainab Maina; BoT and NEC member, Esther Uduehi; while the PDP was listed as the eighth plaintiff.

INEC was initially listed as the sole defendant in the matter.

However, a faction of the PDP loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, approached the court to challenge its jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

The Wike-backed faction, led by Mohammed Abdulrahman, also sought to be joined in the matter alongside Samuel Anyanwu, National Secretary, and Kamardeen Ajibade, National Legal Adviser.

Also seeking to be joined were former Imo PDP Chairman, Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah, and George Turner.

There was also a dispute over who had the authority to represent the PDP in court. While Chief Uche announced appearance for all the plaintiffs, including the PDP, another lawyer, Sunday Ameh, appearing from the Wike-backed side, also announced appearance for the PDP.

There was also a dispute over who had the authority to represent the PDP in court. While Chief Uche announced appearance for all the plaintiffs, including the PDP, another lawyer, Sunday Ameh, appearing from the Wike-backed side, also announced appearance for the PDP.

Ameh argued that the PDP did not authorise Uche to file the suit in its name and asked the court to strike out the party as a plaintiff.

Justice Ibrahim agreed with Ameh’s argument and held that the Wabara-led BoT had no legal basis to institute the action on behalf of the PDP.

The court consequently struck out the name of the PDP as the eighth plaintiff, holding that the first to seventh plaintiffs had no authority to include the party’s name in the suit.

The judge also granted the joinder applications and joined Abdulrahman, Anyanwu, Ajibade, Nwachukwu, Amah and Turner as second to seventh defendants.

On INEC’s preliminary objection, the court held that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter because the dispute bordered on the internal affairs of a political party.