The Federal High Court in Abuja has awarded N140 million in costs against the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, after dismissing its leadership suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and others.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Salim Ibrahim described the suit as an abuse of court process, unmeritorious and lacking merit.
The judge held that the award of costs was in line with Section 83(6)(b) of the Electoral Act 2026 and ruled that the plaintiffs should pay N140 million to the defendants. He also ordered the plaintiffs’ counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), to personally pay N10 million to discourage the filing of frivolous suits involving the internal affairs of political parties.
The suit, filed by members of the Wabara-led BoT, sought an order compelling INEC to recognise the factional National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP led by Kabir Turaki (SAN) and reflect its members on the commission’s official website. The plaintiffs argued that the names of the factional executives had been forwarded to INEC in a letter dated 4 May.
The originating summons, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was filed on 4 June by a legal team led by Uche.
The plaintiffs included Wabara, former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, former Information Minister Jerry Gana, PDP chieftain Bode George, former Women Affairs Ministers Maryam Ciroma and Zainab Maina, Dame Esther Uduehi and the PDP.
During the proceedings, a rival PDP faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, challenged the court’s jurisdiction and opposed the inclusion of the PDP as a plaintiff.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria Sunday Ameh, who appeared for the party, argued that the PDP had not authorised Uche to institute the suit on its behalf and sought an order removing the party’s name from the case. Uche opposed the application and urged the court to dismiss it.
The Wike-backed PDP leadership, including National Chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman, National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu and National Legal Adviser Kamardeen Ajibade, also applied to be joined as defendants, alongside Imo PDP Chairman Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah and George Turner.
In his judgment, Justice Ibrahim upheld Ameh’s argument and struck out the PDP as the eighth plaintiff, holding that the remaining plaintiffs had no authority to institute the action in the party’s name.
The court also granted the applications for joinder, adding Abdulrahman, Anyanwu, Ajibade, Nwachukwu, Amah and Turner as the second to seventh defendants.
Justice Ibrahim further upheld the preliminary objections filed by INEC and the other defendants, ruling that the dispute centred on the internal affairs of a political party and was therefore outside the court’s jurisdiction.
On the substantive claims, the judge held that the plaintiffs failed to establish their entitlement to the reliefs sought.
He affirmed the leadership of the Abdulrahman-led PDP faction, noting that earlier court judgments, including a decision by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik recognising the leadership and granting it access to the party’s national headquarters, remained valid and had not been set aside.
The court also held that the party’s March convention, which produced the current leadership, was conducted in line with a subsisting court judgment.
Justice Ibrahim concluded that the fresh action amounted to an attempt to relitigate issues that had already been settled by the courts.
