Court Blocks Turaki PDP Faction from Secretariat, Directs Security to Protect Wike Camp
The internal crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) escalated on Tuesday following a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja that barred the Kabiru Turaki-led faction from accessing the party’s national secretariat.
The decision has significantly deepened the rift between opposing factions struggling for dominance within Nigeria’s main opposition party.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, who delivered the judgment, also nullified the convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November 2025. The court held that the exercise, which produced the Turaki-led national executives, was conducted in blatant disregard of an existing court order.
The court further directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognise any resolutions or outcomes from the said convention. According to the ruling, all actions taken during the gathering lack legal validity and are therefore unenforceable.
In a related directive, security agencies were ordered to guarantee unrestricted access to the party’s national headquarters for the faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The Nigerian Police Force and the Department of State Services were specifically mandated to enforce compliance with the court’s decision and maintain law and order.
PulseNets learned that the judgment followed a suit filed on November 21, 2025, by Mohammed Abdulrahman and Samuel Anyanwu, who described themselves as the interim national chairman and secretary of the party.
The plaintiffs, reportedly backed by Wike, challenged the legitimacy of the Ibadan convention and sought judicial intervention to restrain the Turaki faction from parading itself as the leadership of the PDP.
Delivering her verdict, Justice Abdulmalik held that the convention conducted between November 15 and 16, 2025, violated Section 287(3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. She noted that the organisers acted in defiance of subsisting court orders as well as provisions of the PDP constitution.
The court also declared that all decisions reached during the convention, including the election of party officials and the expulsion of certain members, were unlawful.
Describing the development as a breach of the rule of law, the court maintained that it undermined the principles of internal party democracy.
“All proceedings, resolutions and decisions reached at the said convention are hereby declared null and void,” the judge ruled, stressing that they carry no legal consequence.
PulseNets reported that the court further faulted the suspension and expulsion of members loyal to the plaintiffs, noting that such actions were executed in violation of valid judicial pronouncements.
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Justice Abdulmalik emphasised that political parties are bound to operate within their constitutional frameworks and must respect court rulings. She reiterated that Section 287(3) empowers courts to enforce compliance, warning that no individual or group is above the law.
The ruling is expected to significantly alter the balance of power within the PDP, as rival factions continue to assert control over the party’s structure ahead of future political engagements.
