The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday dismissed a suit filed by Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the former National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), seeking legal recognition as the party’s scribe.
Justice Mohammed Umar dismissed the suit following the expiration of Anyanwu’s tenure in December 2025.
In the suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025), Anyanwu had sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the then-acting National Chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagun. The plaintiff sought an interim injunction to restrain INEC from recognizing any correspondence from the PDP not signed by him. He also sought to prevent Damagun from dispatching party documents without his countersignature.
The court later joined the PDP, Sunday Udeh-Okoye, Dr. Ali Odela, and Mr. Setonji Koshoedo as additional defendants.
At the resumed hearing, Anyanwu’s counsel, U.C. Njemanze-Aku, informed the court that his client’s tenure had expired in December. He applied to withdraw the matter, stating it would be improper to proceed with a case “overtaken by events.”
“In the interest of justice, I apply to withdraw this matter to save the court’s time,” Njemanze-Aku said.
Counsel for the defendants, including Akintayo Balogun (INEC), M.O. Akpan (Damagun), and Ugochukwu Okanu (Udeh-Okoye), did not object to the withdrawal but requested the court to award costs of N1 million each against Anyanwu. They argued the suit was unnecessary from the onset.
However, Justice Umar dismissed the suit without awarding costs, noting that the delay in the proceedings was not the fault of the parties involved.
“The matter is hereby dismissed,” the judge ruled. “On costs, the situation made it so that the delay is not on any of the parties. For this reason, I award no cost.”
The legal battle over the PDP National Secretary position began after Anyanwu vacated the office to contest the 2023 Imo State governorship election. His attempt to return to the role sparked a leadership tussle with Sunday Udeh-Okoye, leading to a series of conflicting rulings from the High Court, Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court.
