A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has set January 23rd 2025, for the hearing of a lawsuit for stay of further proceedings initiated by the Kabiru Turaki-led People’s Democratic Party (PDP), against a suit instituted by the faction aligned with Nyesom Wike.

The presiding judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, postponed the hearing on Wednesday to allow counsel for the plaintiffs, Onyechi Ikpeazu, respond to the stay application.

New Telegraph recalls that the Wike-led faction, through its acting National Chairman, Mohammed Abdulrahman and factional National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2501/2025.

They are requesting an order to stop the Turaki-led leadership, listed as 5th to 25th defendants, from parading themselves as representatives of the PDP and restraining the police and the Department of State Services from allowing them access to the party’s national secretariat at Wadata Plaza, Abuja.

Also, the plaintiff requests the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept any office address from the Turaki faction other than the one already in its records, and to this end, declare that INEC, the police and the DSS are enabled to execute earlier judgments and rulings delivered by Justices James Omotosho and Peter Lifu.

READ ALSO:

Justice Abdulmalik had earlier granted an ex parte order directing parties not to take any step pending the determination of the suit.

The Turaki-led PDP appealed the decision and filed a motion for stay of proceedings, as well as a motion on notice asking the judge to recuse herself on grounds of alleged bias.

When the case came up on Wednesday, Ikpeazu said the court had earlier ruled that all pending applications would be taken together with the substantive suit and that the plaintiffs were ready to proceed.

But counsel to the Turaki faction, Chief Chris Uche, said they had filed an appeal against the ex parte order, which had been entered at the Court of Appeal as CA/ABJ/CV/1770/2025.

“We filed an appeal against my lord’s decision, and we have a duty to report to your lordship that that appeal has now been entered in the Court of Appeal numbered: CA/ABJ/CV/1770/2025.

“We have also filed an affidavit of facts of entering the appeal in order to bring to your knowledge the entry of the appeal.

“Records have been fully transmitted, and the plaintiffs are very much aware and have taken steps to file processes in the appeal,” he said.

Uche argued that once an appeal has been entered, the trial court should cease further proceedings, citing Secondus vs. Ibaochi Alex, and urged the court to stay proceedings and adjourn the matter sine die.

Ikpeazu countered that an appeal does not automatically translate to a stay.

By virtue of Order 4, Rules 11(2) of the Court of Appeal rules, Sub. 1 provides for a basis for the application they have just made but Sub. 2 limits the scope of the Sub. 1,” he said, adding that the appeal was against an interlocutory decision.

“The bottom line is the appeal is against the interlocutory decision of my lord,” he said.

Justice Abdulmalik asked if he had been served with the stay motion.

“We were served very late yesterday, my lord,” Ikpeazu replied.

The judge directed him to file a formal response and adjourned the case to January 23rd for the hearing of the stay application.

In the recusal motion, Uche urged the judge to withdraw from the case and remit the file to the Chief Judge for reassignment, arguing that the defendants had petitioned the Chief Judge against assigning PDP internal dispute cases to Justice Abdulmalik and two other judges due to perceived partisanship.

He alleged that although the suit was filed on Nov. 21, 2025, the judge made an ex-parte order on Nov. 25 “in a format and template that was curious and in alliance with the format and template utilised by Hon. Justice Omotosho of the same court against the defendants,” adding that the orders were made without real urgency and touched on the substance of the suit.

Addressing newsmen after the hearing, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP National Working Caretaker Committee, Jungudo Mohammed, expressed hopes that the court will grant the plaintiffs’ request, on the grounds of two previous judgments of the Federal High Court.

“As you are aware, previously, there were two final judgments of the federal high court stopping any planned convention in Oyo. Unfortunately, some recalcitrant members of the party went ahead and conducted that convention.

“The main substantive issue here is that we are praying the court to restrict those people parading themselves as national officers of the party.“And, you know, on the strength of the two earlier federal high court judgments, I actually do not want to preempt what the court will say, but your guess is as good as mine,” he said.