PDP court dismissal sparks fresh concerns over impartiality after suit challenging police blockade of party secretariat is dismissed in Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party has expressed deep concerns over the conduct of the Federal High Court in Abuja following the dismissal of its suit challenging the police blockade of the party’s national secretariat, despite the suit being formally withdrawn in accordance with court rules.

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PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, stated on Friday that the court’s decision to dismiss the case has heightened the party’s lingering fears about judicial impartiality.

According to the party, it had previously written to the Chief Judge to highlight perceived bias by three of the twelve judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

“Despite this information, the Chief Judge still assigned our case to her. When we appeared, we filed a motion for recusal, requesting that Justice Abdulmalik recuse herself.

Rather than take the motion and rule on it, the judge decided to hear all motions alongside the main case, giving her ruling on recusal only at judgment. This, in our view, defeats fair hearing,” the PDP said.

The party further explained that it filed a notice of discontinuance under Order 50 Rule 2(1) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019, entitling a plaintiff to withdraw a suit within fourteen days of receiving the last defendant’s statement of defence.

The notice was filed three days after service of the last defence, within the stipulated timeframe.

“After our counsel informed the court of our intention to discontinue, citing the relevant rules, the judge dismissed rather than struck out our case. This again exacerbates our party’s subsisting fear about the impartiality of the court,” Ememobong said.

The dispute stems from internal PDP tensions following the Ibadan convention, where Kabiru Turaki and other members of the National Working Committee were elected for a four-year tenure on November 16.

The Wike-aligned faction, however, continued to assert control through a caretaker committee led by Mohammed Abdulrahman and Senator Anyanwu, which culminated in violent attempts to seize the party’s National Headquarters at Wadata Plaza, Abuja.

The police subsequently sealed the secretariat and another office in Maitama.

In a bid to reclaim the secretariat, the Turaki-led NWC filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2520/2025, naming the Inspector-General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force as first and second defendants.

Among other reliefs, the PDP sought an order compelling the police to vacate the party’s national secretariat.

On Friday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik dismissed the suit on the grounds that issues had already been joined, rejecting the PDP’s counsel’s request to strike it out following a formal discontinuance.

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The PDP recalled the admonition of late Justice Niki Tobi, urging Nigerian judges to maintain a clear separation from politics, and said the recent ruling reinforces concerns about impartiality in the judiciary.