PDP faction sues police over sealed secretariat

The crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deepened as the Kabiru Turaki (SAN)-led faction approached the Federal High Court in Abuja over the continued sealing of the party’s national secretariat. In a suit filed against the Inspector-General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force, the faction seeks an order compelling the police to unseal and vacate the PDP headquarters in Abuja, as well as all other party offices nationwide.

The application, filed through Chief Chris Uche (SAN), requests a mandatory injunction directing the police to remove barricades and withdraw from the party’s premises. The secretariat was sealed in November following violent clashes between the Turaki-led faction and the Nyesom Wike-aligned faction, after both scheduled meetings at the same time. Tear gas was reportedly deployed, and the premises cordoned with barbed wire. The closure prevented the Turaki-led National Working Committee from holding its inaugural meeting.

Turaki was elected national chairman at the PDP convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November, which the Wike-aligned faction rejected, citing existing court orders that restrained the party from holding the exercise. Despite this, a High Court in Ibadan granted an ex parte order allowing the convention to proceed. At the convention, the party expelled Wike, national secretary Samuel Anyanwu, factional chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman, and eight others over alleged anti-party activities.

In the current suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/252/2025), the PDP, Turaki, and Board of Trustees chairman Senator Adolphus Wabara asked the court to restrain the police from further interference in the party’s affairs. The plaintiffs argued the police acted without lawful authority when they sealed the offices on November 18, 2025, and have continued to occupy them.

An affidavit by PDP national secretary Taofik Arapaja confirmed that the party informed security agencies of an emergency stakeholders’ meeting and requested coverage, but officials, staff, and visiting governors were denied access. The party claimed the closure disrupted administration, policy coordination, membership management, and election preparations.

The plaintiffs stressed that the police, under the Nigeria Police Act 2020, must not act in a partisan manner. They argued that granting the application would serve justice, prevent further harm, and dispel any perception that the court endorses the police’s actions.

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