Abuja Court Dismisses PDP Leadership Recognition Suit

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to compel Nigeria's electoral commission to recognize a factional leadership within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party. Justice Salim Ibrahim delivered the ruling on Friday, July 17, 2026, striking out the suit for lack of jurisdiction and describing it as an abuse of court process.

The case was filed on June 4 by a group of party elders led by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, who chairs the PDP's Board of Trustees. The plaintiffs had asked the court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognize and publish on its website the names of an interim National Working Committee led by Kabiru Turaki. They argued that the names of this committee were forwarded to INEC in letters dated May 4.

However, the court ruled that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to institute the action on behalf of the PDP. Justice Ibrahim upheld preliminary objections filed by INEC and by another PDP faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. This rival faction, led by National Chairman Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed, successfully applied to be joined in the case as an...