The Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, reserved judgment in an appeal filed by the Tanimu Turaki, SAN-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which seeks to validate the outcome of the party’s November 2025 national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, announced that the judgment date would be communicated to all parties after lawyers representing both sides adopted their briefs of argument.
The Turaki faction approached the Supreme Court to set aside the judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court in Abuja, which nullified the Ibadan convention for being held in disobedience of a valid court order. Specifically, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court had restrained the then Damagum-led National Executive Committee (NEC) from proceeding with the convention until former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido was given the opportunity to purchase nomination forms to contest for the office of national chairman. The party, however, went ahead with the convention in disregard of the court orders.
The appellate court had also dismissed the faction’s claim that the matter was a non-justiciable internal affair of a political party, holding that the lower court had properly assumed jurisdiction as the suit sought compliance with the Electoral Act, the 1999 Constitution, and the PDP’s guidelines and regulations for political parties.
While adopting their brief of argument, the appellants, through their team of lawyers led by Chief Paul Erokoro, SAN, urged the Supreme Court to allow their appeal and dismiss a cross-appeal lodged against them by a faction of the party aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. Meanwhile, Sule Lamido, represented by Mr. J. C. Njikonye, SAN, as well as the Wike-backed faction, represented by Mr. J. B. Daudu, SAN, filed preliminary objections seeking dismissal of the appeal.
The respondents insisted that, contrary to the contention by the Turaki-led group, the appeal did not fall within the sphere of the PDP’s internal affairs. It was their position that both the high court and the appellate court had rightly exercised jurisdiction over the matter.
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