A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has struck out a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise and publish the Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice Salim Ibrahim ruled that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to institute the action, rendering the suit incompetent and depriving the court of jurisdiction.
The case was filed by Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Adolphus Wabara, alongside other BoT members, including former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Prof. Jerry Gana, Chief Olabode George, Hajiya Maryam Ciroma, Hajiya Zainab Maina, Dame Esther Uduehi and the PDP.
The plaintiffs had asked the court to direct INEC to recognise the Kabiru Turaki-led interim NWC, publish the names of its members on the commission’s website and accept all official communications issued by the body.
They argued that previous judgments of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court imposed a constitutional obligation on INEC to recognise the interim leadership.
However, Justice Ibrahim held that the plaintiffs failed to establish that INEC was under any existing legal duty to recognise the Turaki-led committee or that any subsisting court order compelled the electoral commission to do so.
The judge also ruled that the plaintiffs failed to prove that the purported interim NWC constituted the lawful leadership of the PDP capable of representing the party in its dealings with INEC.
Before striking out the case, the court granted applications by members of the faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to join the suit as defendants.
Those joined included Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed, identified as National Chairman of the Wike-backed faction, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the party’s National Secretary, and National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade.
The court also approved separate applications by Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah Nnanna and George Turnah to participate in the proceedings, holding that they were necessary parties whose interests could be affected by the outcome of the case.
Justice Ibrahim subsequently upheld the preliminary objections filed by INEC and the newly joined defendants, ruling that the issues raised had already been addressed in previous litigation and could not be relitigated.
Consequently, the court struck out the suit in its entirety and awarded ₦10 million in costs against the plaintiffs in favour of the defendants.
The judge further directed the counsel who instituted the action to personally pay the awarded costs, stating that the order was intended to discourage frivolous political litigation and unnecessary interference in the internal affairs of political parties.
