The internal crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party deepened on Wednesday after a Federal High Court in Abuja fixed January 23, 2025, to hear a request by the Kabiru Turaki faction seeking to halt proceedings in a suit filed by a rival group aligned with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The suit, brought by the Wike backed faction through its acting National Chairman, Mohammed Abdulrahman, and factional National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, challenges the authority of the Turaki led leadership.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to stop the Turaki group from presenting itself as the legitimate leadership of the PDP and to bar security agencies from granting them access to the party’s national secretariat at Wadata Plaza in Abuja.
They are also seeking an order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission to continue recognising only the PDP address already in its records, while insisting that previous judgments by Justices James Omotosho and Peter Lifu remain binding on INEC, the police and the Department of State Services.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik had earlier granted an ex parte order directing all parties to maintain the status quo until the case is determined.
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The Turaki faction has since challenged that order at the Court of Appeal, where the case has been registered as CA/ABJ/CV/1770/2025.
At Wednesday’s sitting, their lawyer, Chief Chris Uche, told the court that the appeal had been formally entered and argued that this automatically stripped the trial court of jurisdiction to proceed further.
He urged the judge to stay the case until the appeal is resolved.
However, counsel to the plaintiffs, Onyechi Ikpeazu, countered that an appeal against an interlocutory ruling does not by itself stop proceedings, insisting that the court could continue hearing the matter.
After confirming that Ikpeazu had only just been served with the stay application, Justice Abdulmalik directed him to file a response and adjourned the matter to January 23 for full arguments.
Outside the courtroom, PDP caretaker committee spokesman, Jungudo Mohammed, expressed optimism that earlier court judgments in the party’s favour would ultimately prevail in the dispute.