The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed January 23 to hear an application for stay of further proceedings filed by the Kabiru Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in an ongoing leadership dispute within the party.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned the matter on Wednesday to allow the plaintiffs to respond to the application seeking to halt proceedings pending the determination of an appeal at the Court of Appeal.
The suit was instituted by the Wike-led faction of the PDP, including Mohammed Abdulrahman, the party’s acting National Chairman and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the factional National Secretary.
The plaintiffs are challenging the legitimacy of the Turaki-led leadership.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2501/2025, the plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief restraining the Turaki-led group from parading themselves as leaders or representatives of the PDP.
They also asked the court to restrain the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) from granting the faction access to the party’s national secretariat at Wadata Plaza, Abuja.
The plaintiffs further sought an order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or accepting any office address submitted by the Turaki-led faction other than the one already on record.
They also asked the court to declare that INEC, the police and the DSS are constitutionally bound to enforce earlier judgments of the Federal High Court delivered by Justices James Omotosho and Peter Lifu.
Justice Abdulmalik had earlier granted an ex parte order directing all parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the suit.
The Turaki-led faction subsequently appealed the decision and filed an application seeking a stay of proceedings at the trial court.
When the case was mentioned on Wednesday, counsel to the Turaki-led faction, Chris Uche, SAN, informed the court that the appeal had been entered at the Court of Appeal and that a motion for stay of proceedings was pending.
He argued that once an appeal has been entered, the trial court should suspend further proceedings.
Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, counsel to the plaintiffs, argued that the filing of an appeal does not automatically operate as a stay of proceedings.
He said the appeal was against an interlocutory decision and did not affect the substantive issues before the court.
Justice Abdulmalik noted that the plaintiffs were served with the stay application a day earlier and directed them to file a formal response. She adjourned the matter to January 23 for the hearing of the application.
The Turaki-led faction has also filed a motion seeking the recusal of Justice Abdulmalik from the case and requesting that the matter be reassigned by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.