The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by the Kabiru Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), upholding the Federal High Court’s authority to hear a case concerning the party’s planned convention in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, 2026.
The three-judge panel delivered judgment on nine related appeals filed by the Turaki faction, which sought to overturn a lower court order that had prevented the party from holding its November 14 and 15, 2025, national convention.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal affirmed the decision of the Federal High Court, which barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the planned convention.
The appellate court found that the lower court had the proper jurisdiction to hear the matter.
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The judges rejected arguments from the Turaki faction that the dispute was purely internal, stating that alleged breaches of both the PDP constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria could not be treated as internal party issues.
“The appellants cannot repackage a clear violation of the party constitution and the national Constitution as an internal party affair,” the court observed.
The appeal was dismissed, and the court awarded N2 million in legal costs against the Turaki-led faction.