Court Fails to Deliver Verdict in Sule Lamido’s Suit — PDP Gets Temporary Reprieve

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, failed to deliver judgement in a suit filed by the former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, seeking to stop the 2025 national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scheduled to hold on November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Tribune Online earlier reported that the trial Judge, Justice Peter Lifu, had on Tuesday fixed Thursday for judgement after the adoption of written addresses by parties in the suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/2299/2025 and having listened to legal opinion from senior lawyers on whether Lamido exhausted the internal mechanism of the party before approaching the court and whether the issue before the court is an internal affairs of the party.

When parties appeared in court Thursday morning for the judgment, the court registrar announced that the judgment of the court on the matter was not ready and that parties would be notified whenever it is ready.

The former governor joined the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 1st and 2nd defendants in the suit filed on his behalf by his counsel, Jeph Njikonye, SAN. The court later joined Hon Austine Nwachukwu, Imo PDP Chairman; Hon Amah Abraham Nnanna, Abia PDP Chairman, and Hon Turnah George, who was said to be PDP Secretary, South-South Geo-Political Zone, as interested parties in the matter.

Recall that earlier in the proceedings on Tuesday, the court made an interim order restraining the PDP from holding its 2025 National Convention and barred INEC from supervising, monitoring, or recognising the outcome of the National Convention where national officers are expected to be elected, pending the hearing and determination of the suit filed by Lamido.

Justice Lifu issued the fresh order while ruling in motion on notice brought by the former governor against PDP, which he said denied him the opportunity to buy the chairmanship nomination form to enable him to participate in the convention.

The judge predicated the restriction order against PDP on the grounds that the party refused, neglected, and failed to comply with relevant conditions and laws for the conduct of such conventions.

The judge held that evidence from Lamido showed that the timetable for the convention was not published for the attention of its members as required by law and held that the balance of convenience tilted towards Lamido because he would suffer more if allowed to be unlawfully excluded from the planned convention.

To make a remedy, the Judge said, the former governor had undertaken to pay damages to PDP in the event that his suit was found to be frivolous.

He also said that in line with section 6 of the 1999 Constitution, the court of law must not abdicate its role of dispensing justice without fear or favour and held that anarchy would be the order of the day, any day and anywhere the court of record abdicates its Constitution-assigned functions.

In his final pronouncement, the Judge restrained PDP from proceeding with the convention billed for November 15 and 16 or any other date in Ibadan or any other place, and also stopped INEC from supervising, monitoring or recognising the outcome of any convention that is organised by PDP.

Meanwhile, another Judge of the same court, James Omotosho, had on October 31 issued similar orders stopping INEC from supervising or recognizing the outcome of the PDP convention if conducted on the grounds that due process was not followed in the way the convention was being planned.

Omotosho held that the PDP failed to issue the mandatory 21 days’ notice of meetings and congresses to enable INEC carry out its mandatory duty of monitoring such meetings and congresses and further held that, the failure of the PDP to comply with the law has put the planned convention in jeopardy, and subsequently advised the PDP to do the necessary before going ahead with the election.

He therefore restrained INEC from receiving, publishing, or recognizing the outcome of the convention slated for Ibadan, until the law has been complied with.