By TAIYE AGBAJE

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday awarded N140 million against the Sen. Adolphus Wabara-led Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for filing a frivolous suit against Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and others.

Justice Salim Ibrahim, in a judgment, also dismissed the leadership tussle suit for being “an abuse of court process, unmeritorious and lacking in merit.”

Justice Ibrahim, who agreed with the arguments of the defendants that “cost follows event,” held that the fine was in line with Section 83(6)(b) of the Electoral Act, 2026.

Justice Ibrahim also ordered counsel to the plaintiffs, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, to pay N10 million in order to ensure that frivolous suits are not filed when the case borders on the internal affairs of political parties.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that members of the Wabara-led BoT had filed the fresh suit.

They had sought an order of the court compelling INEC to recognise the PDP interim National Working Committee (NWC)’s faction led by its National Chairman, Kabir Turaki, SAN, in its official website, among others.

They said the names of members of the Kabir Turaki-led NWC was forwarded to the electoral umpire via their letters dated May 4.

NAN reports that the originating summons, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was filed on June 4 by a team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN.

The BoT members, who are plaintiffs in the suit, are ex-Senate President Adolphus Wabara; BoT Secretary, former Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger; ex-Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana and PDP chieftain, Olabode George as 1st to 4th plaintiffs.

Others are former Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Maryam Ciroma; also an ex-Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina; member of BoT and NEC, Dame Esther Uduehi and PDP as 5th to 8th plaintiffs respectively.

They sued INEC as sole defendant in the suit.

The PDP faction, loyal to the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, approached the court and challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the suit.

Although Uche had announced his appearance for the first to eighth plaintiffs in the suit, another lawyer, Sunday Ameh, SAN, who came from Wike’s camp, also announced his representation for the eighth plaintiff (PDP).

Besides, the the Wike-backed PDP executives led by the National Chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Abdulrahman; Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, National Secretary and Kamardeen Ajibade, National Legal Adviser, all sought to be joined in the suit as 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants respectively.

They were represented in court by Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, while Joseph Daudu, SAN, appeared for Austin Nwachukwu, Imo PDP chairman; Abraham Amah, and Goerge Turner, who sought to join the suit as 5th to 7th defendants respectively.

They prayed the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.

Besides issues of joinder, all the defendants, including INEC, filed preliminary objections and counter affidavits, praying the court to dismiss the case in its entirety for being abuse of court process and incompetent.

Ameh, who also appeared for 8th plaintiff (PDP), said they were contesting the presence of PDP as a plaintiff before the court because the party did not authorise Uche to file the suit.

He said it was against the development that they filed a notice of change of counsel and a motion seeking an order striking out the PDP (eight plaintiff)’s name from the suit.

But Uche had opposed Ameh’s application.

The lawyer prayed the court to dismiss the application as being misconceived and frivolous.

He also urged the court to dismiss the application for a change of counsel.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Ibrahim found merit in the argument of Ameh that Wabara-led BoT had no legal basis to have instituted the suit on PDP’s behalf.

The judge, who struck out the name of PDP as 8th plaintiff, agreed that the first to seventh plaintiffs had no authority to have included PDP’s name as plaintiff in the case.

The judge also agreed with the applicants seeking to be joined in the suit as necessary parties.

He, therefore, made an order joining Abdulrahman, Anyanwu, Ajibade, Nwachukwu, Amah and Turner as second to seventh defendants .

On the preliminary objections filed by INEC, he agreed with the commission that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit which bordered on the internal affairs of a political party.

The judge, who also upheld the preliminary objections of the second to seventh defendants, said their objections succeeded, having struck out the name of PDP as 8th plaintiff in the suit, among other grounds.

On the substantive suit, Justice Ibrahim held that the plaintiffs had failed to prove any entitlement to the reliefs sought

The judge, who affirmed the leadership of Abdulrahman-led PDP, the faction loyal to the FCT minister, said the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs were not grantable.

He agreed with the defendants that previous court judgments, including the judgment delivered by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of a sister court which affirmed the Abdulrahman-led leadership and gave it access to the party’s national office, had not be set aside.

He also agreed with the Abdulrahman-led faction’s argument that the March convention which gave rise to the present leaders of the Wike faction of the party, was in line with a valid court judgment which had not been vacated.

The judge held that filing the instant suit is like relitigating a settled case. (NAN)

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