Court Dismisses Anyanwu’s Suit In PDP National Secretary Power Struggle

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.

Justice Mohammed Umar struck out the case, noting that Anyanwu’s tenure as national secretary had expired in December 2025, rendering the matter overtaken by events.

Anyanwu had filed the suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025) naming the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and former acting PDP National Chairman, Umar Damagun, as the 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 requested that Damagun be barred from sending party correspondence to INEC without his countersignature.

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

When the matter came up for hearing, 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 court’s time,” 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 should never have been filed and urged the court to dismiss it with a cost of ₦1 million. Other defence lawyers supported the request for costs.

However, Njemanze-Aku objected, explaining that the withdrawal was due to circumstances beyond Anyanwu’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 said, urging the court to let each party bear its 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. 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 attempt to reclaim the position triggered 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 removing Anyanwu and affirming Udeh-Okoye as secretary. Anyanwu appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned the lower courts’ rulings in March 2025.

Despite the apex court’s decision, 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 ended with Tuesday’s dismissal.