The Federal High Court in Abuja has refused to grant an interim order seeking to stop the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from holding its forthcoming meetings and national convention.
In a ruling delivered on Thursday, Justice James Omotosho declined the plaintiffs’ ex parte application for an interim injunction to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP from proceeding with the party’s scheduled leadership meetings and convention.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025, was filed by Austine Nwachukwu, PDP chairman in Imo State; Amah Abraham Nnanna, Abia State chairman; and Turnah George, South-South secretary of the party — all believed to be allies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who has been at odds with the party’s leadership over the planned convention.
The plaintiffs asked the court to restrain the PDP from holding any meetings, congresses, or conventions unless due notice and proper democratic processes are observed. Specifically, they sought to stop the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for October 18 and the National Conventionslated for November 15–16, 2025, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
They also prayed the court to bar INECfrom monitoring or participating in any of the PDP’s leadership meetings or acting on any 21-day statutory notice issued by party officials, including the National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature.
Justice Omotosho, however, refused to grant the interim injunction, ruling that: “The motion ex parte for interim injunction is hereby refused.”
He directed the plaintiffs to serve all defendants with the motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction and warned all parties against taking any step that could undermine the court’s eventual decision. “All parties in this suit, upon being served with this order and the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction, must not take any step, decision, or act that will make the outcome of the reliefs in the motion nugatory,” the judge stated.
The case has been adjourned to October 14, 2025, for the hearing of the motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction.
