Nigeria’s apex court has invalidated the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15–16, 2025, bringing an end to a protracted internal legal battle within the party.
The convention, which produced a rival national executive committee headed by Tanimu Turaki, SAN, was challenged in court over alleged violations of due process and existing judicial orders.
In a split ruling delivered on Thursday, a majority of three out of five justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria dismissed the appeal filed by the Turaki-led faction, describing it as lacking merit.
Justice Stephen Adah, who delivered the lead judgment, stated that the appellants acted in defiance of a valid order issued by a Federal High Court, which had expressly barred the party from proceeding with the convention.
The decision reinforces earlier rulings by lower courts that had declared the exercise unlawful.
Prior to the event, a Federal High Court had halted the convention, citing breaches of the party’s constitution, unresolved disputes from state congresses, and the exclusion of certain aspirants.
Despite this injunction, the convention went ahead, triggering a series of legal challenges.
The Court of Appeal later upheld the initial ruling, affirming that the gathering contravened subsisting court orders and that its outcomes could not be legally recognised.
Unhappy with these decisions, the Turaki faction escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, seeking validation of both the convention and the leadership it produced.
However, the apex court’s verdict has now definitively nullified those claims.
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With this judgment, the long-running dispute over the legitimacy of the factional leadership has been settled, setting the stage for potential restructuring within the PDP as it looks ahead to the 2027 general elections.
