The Court of Appeal of Nigeria sitting in Abuja on Monday dismissed a series of appeals filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against earlier court decisions that stopped the party from proceeding with its disputed national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November 2025.
In unanimous rulings, a three-member panel of the appellate court upheld the judgments of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, declaring the PDP’s appeals lacking in merit. The court also slammed ₦2 million in costs against the party, describing one of the appeals as frivolous.
The verdict represents a fresh legal blow to the opposition party, which has been battling a prolonged internal leadership crisis.
One of the appeals challenged the October 31, 2025 judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho that restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the outcome of the PDP’s national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16, 2025, in Ibadan.
Justice Omotosho had ruled that the party failed to comply with provisions of its constitution and relevant electoral laws before organising the convention.
The suit was filed by three aggrieved PDP members — Austin Nwachukwu, Amah Abraham Nnanna, and Turnah Alabh George — who argued that the convention process violated the party’s rules.
The defendants included the PDP, INEC, the party’s National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, National Organising Secretary Umar Bature, members of the party’s National Working Committee and National Executive Committee, as well as Umar Damagum, Ali Odefa, and Emmanuel Ogidi.
In its ruling, the appellate court rejected the PDP’s argument that the case was purely an internal party matter. It held that the issues raised involved democratic rights and compliance with the law, giving the court jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
The court also affirmed that the plaintiffs had the legal standing to institute the case and dismissed claims that the party was denied a fair hearing.
In a related decision, the appellate court also upheld the November 14, 2025 judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, which barred the PDP from conducting the convention without allowing former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido to contest for the position of national chairman.
Lamido had approached the court after alleging that he was unfairly excluded from the race.
The appellate court agreed with the trial court that the PDP proceeded with the convention in defiance of a valid court order, describing the action as contemptuous.
“It is not for any party in a case to decide which order to obey or ignore,” the court held, noting that
Appeal Court Affirms Orders Against PDP Convention, Hands Victory to Sule Lamido
