Justice Joyce Abdulmalik bars the Turaki-led faction from Wadata Plaza, orders security cover for the rival bloc, and pushes the PDP’s leadership war even closer to the Supreme Court.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dealt the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party a stinging blow. It barred them from accessing the party’s national secretariat in Abuja. This action effectively handed fresh advantage to the camp aligned with Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik delivered the ruling on Monday. It was in a suit filed by PDP members loyal to Wike. She also ordered the police and the Department of State Services to protect the rival bloc. This protection is for when it operates from the headquarters.
The judgment goes beyond a simple gatekeeping order. The court held that the November 15 and 16, 2025 convention in Ibadan produced the Turaki-led structure. It was held in defiance of subsisting court orders. Therefore, it could not stand in law.
Justice Abdulmalik stated that the exercise amounted to a nullity. He described the expulsion of Wike and his allies as an affront to court authority. The ruling declared the convention’s resolutions, including suspensions of members, unconstitutional, unlawful, and void.
Just as significant, the judge rejected the Turaki faction’s bid to have her step aside. Abdulmalik found no credible evidence of bias, insisting that dissatisfaction with earlier orders was a matter for appeal, not recusal.
She declined arguments that the suit was merely an internal party matter beyond the court’s reach. She held that it raised issues of constitutional compliance. It also raised issues of statutory compliance and enforcement of earlier judgments.
For the PDP, the ruling lands at the worst possible moment. The party has now openly conceded that its internal fight has moved to the Supreme Court.
The National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, issued a statement. The Turaki-led side said it had taken “this battle to the Supreme Court.” They seek final determination of the leadership question. They also want clarification on what the party’s internal affairs really mean in law.
The same statement described the rival convention as a “pre-Easter jamboree.” It accused the other camp of acting in contempt of court.
The crisis is now moving on several tracks at once. On Monday, INEC’s website reflected the Wike-backed National Working Committee. It listed Abdulrahman Mohammed as National Chairman and Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary. This development further strengthened the hand of the rival camp.
The Turaki faction insisted the Supreme Court would have the final say. They promised to challenge the latest ruling immediately. That recognition came as the Turaki faction insisted the Supreme Court would have the final say. They promised to challenge the latest ruling immediately.
Wike, for his part, has brushed off the Turaki camp’s appeal strategy. Before the ruling, he spoke and dismissed the move to the Supreme Court as “baseless.” He said the faction’s legal challenge would not stop the convention planned by his side.
He also maintained that the party would eventually reconcile internal grievances after the convention process.
This is why the Abuja judgment matters far beyond the doors of Wadata Plaza. It is not merely about who holds a secretariat key. It concerns which faction can claim the legal, administrative, and symbolic centre of Nigeria’s main opposition party. This occurs at a time when the PDP is already under pressure from defections, parallel structures, and a bruising internal war. This internal conflict could shape the 2027 race.
The court’s order, the INEC website listing, and the competing Supreme Court moves together suggest a party fighting not just for unity. It also fights for control of its own legitimacy. That is the deeper political damage here.
For now, the Wike-backed camp has the sharper tactical edge in Abuja, while the Turaki faction is betting on the Supreme Court to reverse the tide.
Until the apex court speaks, the PDP’s leadership struggle remains a combustible mix of courtroom warfare, factional authority and political survival.
And in that contest, every order, every filing and every public statement is now part of a larger battle for the soul of the opposition.
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