The Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed an appeal filed by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party led by Kabiru Turaki, challenging the outcome of the party’s Ibadan national convention.
The judgment was delivered by a five-member panel of justices headed by Mohammed Garba.
In the lead judgment read by Stephen Adah, the court held that the convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025, was conducted in defiance of a subsisting order of the Federal High Court.
The apex court noted that the order, earlier issued by James Omotosho, had restrained the party from proceeding with the convention pending the determination of a substantive suit.
Justice Adah, delivering judgment in appeal number SC/CV/164/2026, ruled that the appellants violated the court order and acted unlawfully by going ahead with the convention.
The court also criticised the Turaki-led faction for approaching another court of coordinate jurisdiction to obtain a conflicting order, rather than filing an appeal.
It described the move as an abuse of court process, warning that litigants who engage in such conduct do so at their own risk.
The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed the appeal for lacking merit.
The appeals had sought to overturn earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal, which nullified the outcome of the Ibadan convention.
The case originated from a suit filed by Sule Lamido, which led the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Omotosho, to issue an interim order on November 11 restraining the convention. The court later issued a final judgment upholding that position.
Proceedings at the Supreme Court attracted a large number of political figures, with the PDP matter listed first on the day’s cause list.
