Dismissal of Samuel Anyanwu’s Suit Defining Moment for PDP, Party Chief Says

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Sani, yesterday said the dismissal of Samuel Anyanwu’s suit by Justice M. G. Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, marked a defining legal and political moment for the party.

In a statement on X, Sani said the development had far-reaching implications for party autonomy, judicial restraint, and the role of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025, Anyanwu had sought judicial protection to perpetuate himself as National Secretary of the PDP, despite internal party actions and subsisting judicial pronouncements to the contrary.

But his claims were decisively rejected.

Umar said beyond the immediate parties, the judgment reinforced a settled but often contested constitutional principle.

According to him, the ruling aligned squarely with recent Supreme Court judgements, notably Julius Abure vs Nenadi Usman (LP) and INEC vs SDP, where the apex court restated, in unambiguous terms, that leadership disputes within political parties were strictly internal matters.

The former Vice-Presidential spokesman stated that the courts had consistently warned INEC against the temptation to choose sides or confer legitimacy when internal party mechanisms were already in motion, stressing that Justice Umar’s decision sat firmly within this jurisprudential trajectory.

“Crucially, the judgment also validates the long-standing concerns raised by the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led PDP leadership regarding judicial impartiality.

“The suit was initially assigned to Justice Inyang Ekwo one of the judges publicly associated with the so-called “Wike group” before his suspension by the National Judicial Council, NJC.

“The subsequent reassignment to Justice M. G. Umar, a judge outside that orbit, resulted in a ruling that many now regard as unbiased, principled, and firmly rooted in law.

“In this sense, the judgment vindicates earlier calls by the Turaki-led PDP for certain justices to recuse themselves from sensitive party matters where conflicts or perceptions of bias could undermine public confidence.

“For the Wike-aligned faction, the ruling represents a political reckoning. Expectations of judicial endorsement were high, but the bubble has burst.

“The court not only dismissed Anyanwu’s claims but also underscored three fatal flaws: lack of jurisdiction over internal party affairs, abuse of court process through multiple parallel litigations, and the effluxion of Anyanwu’s tenure, having been elected in 2021.

“The implications for INEC are equally significant. Until now, the commission had adopted a posture of non-recognition, citing ‘factionalisation’ within the PDP a claim repeatedly denied by the Turaki-led leadership.

“INEC had maintained that it was awaiting a court order to guide its actions. That order has now arrived. With Senator Anyanwu’s claims delegitimised, his status as a co-signatory to party documents collapses entirely,” he said.