Court Dismisses Anyanwu’s Suit Over PDP National Secretary Tussle

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday dismissed a suit filed by former factional National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Samuel Anyanwu, seeking judicial recognition as the party’s substantive scribe.

Abia Radio News reports that Justice Mohammed Umar struck out the case after noting that Anyanwu’s tenure as national secretary expired in December 2025, rendering the suit overtaken by events.

Anyanwu had approached the court in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025, naming the Independent National Electoral Commission and a former acting National Chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagun, as first and second defendants.

In an ex parte application filed on February 13, 2025, through his counsel, Ken Njemanze, Anyanwu sought an interim injunction restraining INEC from accepting or acting on any PDP correspondence not signed by him. He also asked the court to stop Damagun from sending any party correspondence to INEC without his countersignature.

On February 28, 2025, the court joined the People’s Democratic Party and Sunday Udeh-Okoye as third and fourth defendants. Dr Ali Odela, the party’s South-East Vice Chairman, and Setonji Koshoedo, the Deputy National Secretary, were also joined as fifth and sixth defendants.

When the matter came up, Anyanwu’s counsel, U. C. Njemanze-Aku, informed the court that his client’s tenure had elapsed.

“In the interest of justice, I apply to withdraw this matter to save the time of the court,” he said, adding that it would be improper to proceed with a case already overtaken by events.

INEC’s counsel, Akintayo Balogun, argued that the suit ought not to have been instituted in the first place, and urged the court to dismiss it with a cost of ₦1m. Other defence lawyers aligned with the request for costs.

However, Njemanze-Aku objected, insisting that the withdrawal was due to circumstances beyond the plaintiff’s control.

“We owe a duty to the court, and to avoid wasting its time, we decided to withdraw the case. It is not fair to penalise the plaintiff,” he argued, urging the court to allow parties to bear their own costs.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Umar dismissed the suit without awarding costs.

“Since you have joined issues, I am going to dismiss this matter. The matter is hereby dismissed,” the judge ruled.

On costs, he added, “The delay is not on any of the parties. The situation made it so. For this reason, I award no cost.”

The leadership tussle over the PDP national secretary position began when Anyanwu vacated the office to contest the 2023 Imo governorship election, which he lost. His bid to reclaim the position sparked internal party conflict, with Udeh-Okoye emerging as a rival claimant.

On December 20, 2024, the Court of Appeal in Enugu upheld a Federal High Court judgment that removed Anyanwu and affirmed Udeh-Okoye as secretary. Anyanwu appealed to the Supreme Court, which, in March 2025, overturned the lower courts’ decisions.

Despite the apex court’s ruling, factions within the PDP continued to assert authority, prompting Anyanwu to file a fresh suit in Abuja seeking enforcement of his position. That legal battle has now been brought to an end with Tuesday’s dismissal.