Court throws out Anyanwu’s bid to be recognised as PDP National Secretary

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Samuel Anyanwu seeking to be recognised as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The presiding judge, Mohammed Umar, struck out the suit on Tuesday after Anyanwu’s lawyer, U. C. Njemanze-Aku, informed the court that his client’s tenure as the party’s national secretary ended in December 2025.

The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025, was filed by Anyanwu against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Umar Damagum, who was the PDP national chairman at the time.

In the suit, Anyanwu asked the court to stop INEC and the party leadership from accepting, acting on, or recognising any official correspondence from the PDP that was not signed by him.

The court’s decision followed the admission by Anyanwu’s counsel that his term in office had already expired, making the reliefs sought no longer valid.

When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, Anyanwu’s lawyer said the matter had been overtaken by events and should not proceed.

“In the interest of justice, I apply to withdraw this matter to save the time of the court,” he said.

Akintayo Balogun, INEC’s counsel, said the suit ought not to have been instituted in the first instance.

Balogun asked the court to dismiss the suit with a cost of N1 million.

M. O. Akpan, Damagum’s lawyer, adopted Balogun’s submission.

After hearing arguments from all parties, the judge dismissed the suit without awarding any costs.

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

The PDP national secretary position was the subject of litigation, with Anyanwu, Sunday Udeh-Okoye, and Setonji Koshoedo laying claim to the office.

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