By Halima Abubakar
ABUJA — The Supreme Court has nullified the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025, dealing a major setback to the Tanimu Turaki, SAN-led faction that emerged from the exercise.
In a split decision of three to two, a five-member panel of the apex court dismissed an appeal (SC/CV/164/2026) filed by the faction seeking to overturn an earlier ruling of the Court of Appeal which invalidated the convention.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Stephen Adah held that the appeal lacked merit, noting that the appellants acted in violation of a subsisting order of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had restrained the party from conducting the convention.
The majority ruling emphasised that proceeding with the convention despite the court order amounted to a breach of judicial authority.
However, in a dissenting opinion, Justice Simon Tsammani argued that the issue of disobedience to a court order was not raised by any of the parties, but introduced by the court itself. He further held that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction over internal party matters and consequently upheld the appeal. Justice Sadiq Umar aligned with the dissenting view.
The dispute stemmed from a suit filed by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, who challenged his exclusion from contesting for the party’s national chairmanship.
Earlier, the Federal High Court had barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or monitoring any convention conducted without Lamido’s participation, describing his exclusion as unjust and contrary to the PDP constitution.
Despite the order, the PDP proceeded with the convention, prompting the appellate court to condemn the action as contemptuous and an abuse of court process
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