Adolphus Wabara
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, describing the action as frivolous, lacking merit and an abuse of the court process.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice Salim Ibrahim ordered the Wabara-led plaintiffs to pay a total of ₦140 million in costs to the defendants.
The court also directed the plaintiffs’ counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), to personally pay ₦10 million as a deterrent against the filing of frivolous suits in matters relating to the internal affairs of political parties.
The judge held that the award of costs was consistent with Section 83(6)(b) of the Electoral Act, 2026, agreeing with the defendants that costs should follow the outcome of the case.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was instituted by Wabara, former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, former Information Minister Jerry Gana, PDP chieftain Olabode George and other BoT members.
They had asked the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the Kabiru Turaki-led interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP.
The plaintiffs argued that the names of members of the Turaki-led leadership had been submitted to INEC through letters dated 4 May and should be reflected on the commission’s official records.
However, the suit was strongly opposed by the PDP faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as well as INEC and other interested parties, all of whom challenged the court’s jurisdiction and described the case as incompetent.
A major twist emerged during the proceedings when lawyer Sunday Ameh challenged the inclusion of the PDP as a plaintiff, insisting that the party never authorised the suit or the legal representation by Chief Chris Uche.
Justice Ibrahim agreed with that argument, striking out the PDP as the eighth plaintiff after holding that the Wabara-led BoT lacked the legal authority to institute the action on behalf of the party.
The court also granted the application by the Wike-backed leadership to be joined in the suit as defendants, including National Chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman, National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, National Legal Adviser Kamardeen Ajibade and other party officials.
On the issue of jurisdiction, the court ruled that the dispute was an internal party matter over which it had no jurisdiction.
It further held that the plaintiffs failed to establish any legal basis for the reliefs they sought.
Justice Ibrahim also affirmed the legitimacy of the Abdulrahman-led PDP leadership, noting that previous court judgments recognising that leadership remain valid and have not been overturned.
According to the court, the issues raised in the suit had already been settled by earlier judicial decisions, making the fresh action an attempt to relitigate matters that had been conclusively determined.
The court consequently dismissed the suit in its entirety and awarded substantial costs against the plaintiffs and their counsel.
