Supreme Court Nullifies PDP Ibadan Convention, Dismisses Turaki-Led Appeal

The Supreme Court has thrown out an appeal filed by the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Taminu Turaki.

In its ruling on Thursday, the court said the party’s national convention held in Ibadan, in November last year, went against an earlier order issued by the Federal High Court.

Justice Stephen Adah, who delivered the lead judgment, criticised the Turaki-led faction for going to another court of equal authority to obtain a fresh order instead of appealing the original ruling.

The court described this action as a misuse of the judicial process and warned that such behaviour carries consequences.

The court ruled that the appeal lacked merit and dismissed it.

The Turaki faction had asked the court to overturn a decision by the Court of Appeal, which had already invalidated the convention for violating an existing court order.

Their lawyer, Paul Erokoro (SAN), argued that the convention should stand and also asked the court to reject a counter-appeal from a rival group linked to FCT minister Nyesom Wike.

However, the opposing side, which included former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, insisted that the matter was not just an internal party issue but one involving disobedience to a valid court ruling.

Lamido had earlier secured a Federal High Court order stopping the PDP from holding the convention until he was allowed to contest for the position of national chairman.

Despite this, the party went ahead with the convention, which was later declared illegal by both the lower court and the Court of Appeal.

The appellate court also ruled that the case was not protected as an internal party matter and therefore could be decided by the courts.

The Supreme Court stressed that political parties must obey court orders, noting that they play a key role in governance and must respect the rule of law.

It declared the November convention null and void, adding that it would not support any party that misuses court processes.

Justice Haruna Samani, in the minority judgment he read, argued that leadership matters within a political party should be treated as internal affairs and not handled by the courts.

This position was also supported by Justice Abubakar Umar, who cited previous rulings that such issues are not usually subject to judicial review, except in cases involving party primaries.

Both justices, however, condemned the disregard for court orders.

The lead majority judgment was read by Justice Stephen Adah, and supported by Justices Mohammed Garba and Chidiebere Iheme.

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