DistantNews
Support us
🇳🇬 Nigeria /Crime & Justice

PDP Leadership Crisis: Why Appeal Court Dismissed Challenge to Judgement Recognising Wike-led Caretaker Committee

From ThisDay · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • The Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed an appeal challenging a judgment that recognized a PDP Caretaker Committee loyal to Nyesom Wike.
  • The court cited the issue as academic because the November 2025 convention it related to has already been settled by higher courts.
  • The original judgment had nullified a previous convention and recognized the Mohammed-led Caretaker Committee.

An appeal challenging a Federal High Court judgment that recognized a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caretaker Committee loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal in Abuja. The appellate court refused to hear the case, deeming the issue academic.

no benefit could accrue to any party in the appeal because the issue brought before the appellate court was tied to the November 2025 convention of the PDP which has already been settled by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

— Court of Appeal panelReasoning for dismissing the appeal as academic.

A three-member panel unanimously ruled that no party could benefit from the appeal. They reasoned that the matter was tied to the PDP's November 2025 convention, a convention whose legitimacy has already been definitively settled by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

Earlier, Justice Uche Ogomoh of the Federal High Court in Ibadan had nullified the November 15 and 16 National Convention that produced the Tanimu Turaki-led faction. Justice Ogomoh also recognized the Caretaker Committee led by Abdulrahman Mohammed as the valid leadership. The Turaki-led faction appealed this decision, seeking to overturn the judgment.

the trial court went outside its powers to affirm the Mohammed-led PDP.

— Turaki faction lawyersArgument presented to the appellate court regarding the lower court's ruling.

However, Mohammed, along with committee Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Board of Trustees Chairman Mao Ohuabuwa, asked the appellate court to dismiss the appeal. They argued the issue was moot, as the Supreme Court had already resolved the party's leadership dispute. The Turaki faction countered that the caretaker committee's recognition was not explicitly addressed by the higher courts, maintaining it was a "live issue."

It is contended that this narrow issue was not expressly canvassed or resolved in CA/ABJ/1695/2025 and SC/CV/164/2026, and therefore still requires appellate interrogation.

— Turaki faction lawyersClaim that the caretaker committee issue was not resolved by higher courts.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam noted that the reliefs sought in the appeal centered on the convention's legitimacy. While acknowledging the argument that the caretaker committee's recognition was not directly canvassed, the court concluded that since the issue pivoted around the nullified convention, the appeal had become academic and could not be adjudicated.

In the instant case, no doubt, there is a seeming live issue where it is heid that the trial court went outside the reliefs sought to recognize and uphold a factional caretaker committee; however

— Justice Uchechukwu OnyemenamAcknowledging the argument that the lower court's recognition of the caretaker committee was a live issue.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ThisDay. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog