Turaki-Led PDP Tells Judge to Step Aside in Escalating Party Leadership Dispute

The faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Turaki has asked Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court to step aside from a suit challenging the party’s leadership, citing concerns over fairness and impartiality.

The request, filed through a motion by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, argued that recent actions in the case had created a “reasonable apprehension” of bias against the 5th to 25th defendants, who make up the Turaki-led leadership. Uche noted that his clients had previously petitioned the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, urging that all PDP-related disputes be reassigned away from Justice Abdulmalik and two other Abuja-based judges due to what they described as troubling precedents.

Despite the protest letters, the case was assigned to Justice Abdulmalik, who then issued an ex-parte order on November 25. Uche said the order mirrored a previous ruling by Justice Omotosho in another PDP matter, describing the similarity as “curious” and beyond coincidence. He added that the ex-parte orders, delivered without urgency and before parties were heard, effectively touched the main issues in the case.

The disputed suit, filed on November 21 by the faction loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and led by acting National Chairman Alhaji Mohammed Abdulrahman, seeks to bar the Turaki-led group from accessing the PDP national secretariat and from presenting any alternative address to INEC. It also asks the court to restrain the Turaki-led defendants from parading themselves as PDP representatives. The plaintiffs further want the police, DSS, and INEC compelled to enforce past judgments delivered by Justices Omotosho and Lifu regarding the party’s internal disputes.

At Friday’s proceedings, lawyers informed the court that they had not yet received relevant filings, prompting Justice Abdulmalik to adjourn the matter to January 14, 2026. In a separate but related case filed by the Turaki-led faction, proceedings were also delayed after counsel seeking to be joined confirmed they had not been served. That matter was adjourned to January 16.

The second suit, instituted by the PDP, Turaki, and National Secretary Taofeek Arapaja, seeks an order directing the police to vacate the party’s national headquarters at Wadata Plaza in Abuja.