The Court of Appeal (Nigeria) has dismissed an appeal filed by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party led by former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki, SAN, challenging the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria to hear a case concerning the party’s planned national convention in Ibadan.
In a unanimous ruling delivered by a three-member panel, the appellate court upheld the earlier decision of the lower court, which barred the party from proceeding with the proposed national convention scheduled to take place in Ibadan.
The judgment was part of decisions on nine consolidated appeals filed by the Turaki-led faction of the PDP. The appeals sought to overturn a court order that stopped the party from holding its planned November 14 and 15, 2025 National Convention.
The appellate court also affirmed the lower court’s directive restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising or validating the convention.
In its ruling, the panel rejected the argument that the dispute was purely an internal matter of the party and therefore outside the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
According to the court, the appellants could not “repackage a clear violation of the party constitution and that of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as an internal party affair.”
The court subsequently dismissed the appeal and ordered the appellants to pay N2 million in costs.
The decision is expected to have significant implications for the internal leadership contest within the Peoples Democratic Party ahead of its proposed convention in Ibadan.
