Fresh Crisis Rocks PDP as Turaki Camp Moves Against Three Federal High Court Judges

The internal turmoil within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a new turn as the Turaki-led leadership formally petitions the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, demanding that three Abuja-based judges be barred from handling cases tied to the party.

In the petition, signed by National Secretary Taofeek Arapaja, the party alleges a disturbing trend: that nearly all sensitive PDP suits filed in the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, somehow find their way to Justices James Omotosho, Peter Lifu and Joyce Abdulmalik. The party argues that this has fuelled public suspicion and raised questions about fairness, especially at a time when the PDP is grappling with multiple litigations.

The judges in question delivered several pivotal rulings in recent months. Justice Omotosho stopped the PDP’s planned national convention, while Justice Lifu ruled that INEC must not supervise a convention that excludes former Jigawa governor Sule Lamido. Justice Abdulmalik, on her part, restrained the dissolution of the party’s Cross River exco.

Despite this judicial pressure, the PDP pushed ahead with its Ibadan convention, electing Kabiru Tanimu Turaki as National Chairman and installing a new National Working Committee. The convention also formalised the expulsion of several members, including FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and allies — a move that escalated tensions between the two camps.

The power struggle took a violent turn when members from both factions clashed at the national secretariat in Abuja, prompting security operatives to seal off the building. The Wike faction has since filed a fresh suit seeking to nullify the Ibadan convention entirely.

Arapaja argues in the petition that equity demands that cases involving the PDP be distributed more fairly among judges, stressing that public confidence in the judiciary is at stake. He said the request is not an attack on the judges’ integrity but a bid to avoid perceptions of bias.

However, the Wike faction has pushed back sharply. Acting National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor dismissed the petition as an “overreach,” accusing the Turaki camp of attempting to dictate to the judiciary. He insisted that the controversial rulings simply enforced the PDP’s own constitution and internal procedures — rules the party must respect if it wishes to govern the country.

Osadolor also mocked the recent appointments made by the Turaki-led NWC, branding them “a charade” and insisting the faction lacks any legitimate authority.