On Monday, the Federal High Court in Abuja imposed a fine of N150,000 on Samuel Anyanwu, the national secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for delaying the judgment related to his lawsuit challenging his impending removal.
Justice Inyang Ekwo levied the fine after Anyanwu’s attorney, Ken Njemanze, SAN, requested the court’s permission to file a motion to amend the lawsuit, despite the fact that the case was already scheduled for judgment.
Justice Ekwo scheduled a hearing for the motion on May 19 and mandated that the fine be settled before the next court date.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Justice Ekwo had set the judgment date for March 25, following the completion of arguments from both Mr. Njemanze and the defense attorneys regarding the case aimed at preventing Anyanwu’s removal as the PDP’s national secretary.
Additionally, the judge instructed Mr. Njemanze to provide the court with the Supreme Court’s ruling issued on March 21 within seven days.
NAN further reports that on March 21, the Supreme Court annulled the Court of Appeal’s decision from December 20, 2024, which had upheld Anyanwu’s removal as the PDP’s national secretary.
In a unanimous ruling by a five-member panel, the Supreme Court asserted that issues concerning the leadership and membership of political parties are internal matters and should not be subject to judicial oversight, stating that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction over the initial case brought by party member Aniagwu Emmanuel.
The Supreme Court’s judgment, anticipated to resolve the ongoing crisis, has instead left the PDP’s leadership and its members in turmoil, as both Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye now claim the position of legitimate national secretary following the ruling.
In his original filing, Anyanwu had named the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Umar Damagun, the acting National Chairman of the PDP, as the first and second defendants.
In the ex-parte motion labeled FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025, submitted by Mr. Njemanze on February 13, Anyanwu sought two requests:
1. An interim injunction preventing INEC from accepting or acting on any correspondence from the PDP not signed by him until the hearing and resolution of the motion for an interlocutory injunction.
2. An interim injunction restraining Mr. Damagun from sending any correspondence purportedly from the PDP signed solely by him without Anyanwu’s countersignature.
On February 28, the court added the PDP and Mr. Udeh-Okoye as third and fourth defendants, respectively, along with Ali Odela and Setonji Koshoedo as the fifth and sixth defendants, with Odela being the national vice chairman for the PDP South-East and Koshoedo serving as the party’s deputy national secretary.
During the hearing, Mr. Njemanze acknowledged that the case was fixed for judgment but stated he had a motion to amend their original submission to clarify the issues at stake.
Justice Ekwo questioned the appropriateness of introducing an amendment on the judgment date, to which Njemanze responded by citing Order 17, Rule 1 of the Federal High Court, which grants the court discretionary power to amend processes before judgment.
The judge inquired if the defendants had been served, to which INEC’s counsel, Ahmed Mohammed, confirmed receipt but indicated they would not respond. Akintayo Balogun, representing Mr. Damagun, noted that while they had been served, the application could not be considered as the court was scheduled for judgment.
E.E. Ekere, representing Mr. Udeh-Okoye, confirmed they were served and intended to respond, while J.A. Musa, counsel for Mr. Koshoedo, asserted they had not received service. However, Mr. Njemanze maintained that all defendants had been duly served.
Consequently, Justice Ekwo adjourned the case until May 19 for the motion hearing and enforced the N150,000 fine against the plaintiff’s counsel due to the disruption of the proceedings, mandating payment before the next adjourned date.
(NAN)
