The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Wednesday reserved judgment in an appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging the nullification of its national convention held last year in Ibadan.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Garba Mohammed, announced that a date for the ruling would be communicated to all parties after counsel in the matter adopted their written briefs.
The appeal was instituted by a faction of the PDP led by Tanimu Turaki, seeking to overturn the decision of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria, which nullified the outcome of the party’s convention.
The appellate court had ruled that the exercise was conducted in violation of a subsisting court order issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Peter Lifu had earlier restrained the PDP’s National Executive Committee, then led by Iliya Damagum, from proceeding with the convention scheduled for November 15 and 16, 2026, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu directed that the convention should not hold until a chairmanship aspirant, Sule Lamido, was given the opportunity to obtain nomination forms and participate in the process.
Despite the order, the party went ahead with the convention, arguing that the matter was an internal affair beyond the jurisdiction of the courts.
However, the appellate court rejected that position, holding that the lower court was right to entertain the suit and subsequently voided the convention for disobeying a valid court order.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the PDP approached the Supreme Court, urging it to set aside the judgment and affirm that the issue falls within the party’s internal affairs, which courts lack jurisdiction to adjudicate.
Respondents in the case, however, asked the apex court to dismiss the appeal, insisting it lacks merit.
The Supreme Court is expected to deliver its judgment at a later date.