Legal Expert Dismisses Fresh Judgement On PDP National Convention

By Ayodele Oni

In what is being described as the latest twist in the protracted crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan has nullified the National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15, 2025.

The court barred members of the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee, NWC, from parading themselves as national officers of the PDP.

The court also ruled that the Caretaker Committee led by Mohammed Abdulrahman and Senator Samuel Anyanwu is the only recognised NWC of the PDP, pending the conduct of a valid National Convention.

Reacting to the judgement, Yakubu Pwajok,  a Law Lecturer in Jos, Plateau State, stated that “The recent judgment delivered by the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, or any related Federal High Court proceedings interpreted in connection with the party’s affairs, purporting to affect the leadership, convention, or internal processes of our great party, is a nullity and of no legal effect.

“This position is firmly grounded in established principles of Nigerian jurisprudence: once an appeal has been duly filed and the Court of Appeal is seized of jurisdiction over the subject matter, lower courts are divested of the competence to further entertain, vary, or deliver judgments that interfere with or prejudice the appellate process.

“Any such action by a court of coordinate or lower jurisdiction amounts to an improper interference and renders the purported decision a nullity ab initio.

Key Legal Observations:

“Judicial Overreach: The matter before the judge had no bearing on the purported Abdulrahman caretaker committee. It is, therefore, a clear violation of judicial ethics and an overreach of authority for a judge to grant reliefs not sought by the defendants.

” Pendency of Appeal: The appellate court is now actively seized of the appeals, including those challenging the validity and implications of prior rulings on PDP internal affairs, the convention processes held in Ibadan on November 15–16, 2025, and related executive leadership matters.

“Preservation of the Res: In line with precedents from superior courts, including the Supreme Court, no lower court can lawfully pronounce on or enforce decisions on the identical res (subject matter) while an appeal is pending.

“The doctrine against the multiplicity of actions and the necessity of preserving the res during an appeal strictly prohibits such overreach.

“Consequently, any judgment emerging from the Federal High Court in Ibadan, or any misapplication of prior rulings to ongoing matters, is incompetent, null, void, and of no consequence whatsoever.

“All party faithful, stakeholders, and the general public should disregard any pronouncements or actions predicated on this impugned judgment. They lack legal foundation and will not be recognized by the party.”