Supreme Court of Nigeria has invalidated the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025, dealing a major blow to a faction of the party led by Tanimu Turaki.
In a split decision delivered on Thursday by a five-member panel, three justices held that the appeal filed by the Turaki-led faction lacked merit, thereby affirming the concurrent judgements of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which had earlier nullified the convention.
Delivering the lead judgement, Justice Stephen Adah ruled that the appellants acted in violation of a subsisting order of the Federal High Court that restrained them from proceeding with the planned convention.
The apex court consequently dismissed both the appeal and the cross-appeals, directing all parties to bear their respective costs.
The court noted that the disobedience of the court order by the appellants was not in dispute. It further upheld the findings of the lower courts that the PDP faction abused judicial processes by allegedly obtaining a counter-order from a court of coordinate jurisdiction in Ibadan after an earlier restraining order had been issued by the Federal High Court.
Justice Adah stated that the lower courts were right in relying on Sections 221, 222 and 229 of the 1999 Constitution, stressing that political parties must strictly adhere to constitutional provisions, electoral regulations, and valid court orders in the conduct of conventions and internal affairs.
The appeal had challenged the March 9 judgement of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the earlier decision of the Federal High Court nullifying the convention and restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising its outcome.
The Supreme Court had reserved judgement in the matter after hearing arguments from parties on April 22.
