A High Court in Ibadan has authorised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to proceed with its planned National Convention scheduled for 15th and 16th November 2025, while also instructing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to monitor the electoral process.
Justice A. L. Akintola delivered the ruling on Monday, granting the approval following an ex-parte application filed by Mr. Folahan Adelabi, a PDP member in Oyo State aspiring for the position of Deputy National Organising Secretary.
The judge specifically restrained the party and its leadership from taking any action that could disrupt the conduct of the convention, pending the hearing of the substantive motion. “The claimant/applicant has successfully made out a case for the urgent intervention of this court at this stage,” Justice Akintola said in his ruling.
The interim injunction applies to the PDP, its National Working Committee (NWC), National Executive Committee (NEC), the National Convention Organising Committee, and INEC. The court order also directs the electoral body to attend, monitor, and observe the convention. The substantive case is scheduled for hearing on 10th November 2025.
The decision comes shortly after a Federal High Court in Abuja issued an opposing order preventing INEC from recognising the outcome of the Ibadan convention.
Meanwhile, the PDP has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) over a reported violent invasion of its National Secretariat in Abuja by suspended party officials and their supporters. The party claimed the attack, allegedly led by suspended National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu, resulted in staff injuries, destruction of property, and disruption of official activities.
“The suspended National Secretary allegedly led a group of supporters to the National Secretariat, forced their way into offices, and disrupted official activities,” the petition, signed by PDP National Chairman Ambassador Illya Damagum, stated. It added that tear gas was used during the incident, leaving some staff members injured.
The party questioned the role of the FCT Commissioner of Police in deploying security personnel without notifying the National Chairman, describing the incident as “a clear threat to democracy in Nigeria.”
The PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) has announced plans to intervene in the ongoing leadership tussle. The embattled chairman, Ambassador Illya Damagum, along with other NWC members, had notified INEC of the suspension of four national officers, including Anyanwu.
However, the Anyanwu-led faction of the NWC had also written to INEC regarding the suspension of some officials, intensifying the leadership conflict.
PDP youth leaders in the North-central zone, while initially congratulating Alhaji Abdulrahman Muhammed on his appointment as acting National Chairman, later disassociated from the move, passing a vote of no confidence on him. “You cannot force a communique on us without any input,” delegates led by Alhassan Dangana of Niger State declared during a meeting.
The National Ex-Officio Forum of PDP condemned the invasion of the party’s Secretariat, calling it “a display of political lawlessness and a direct assault on internal democracy.”
