Court moves against INEC chair, Anyanwu over PDP crisis

The notice, titled Form 48, warned of the consequences of disobedience to the judgment of the court delivered on January 12, 2026.

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has issued a notice of consequences of disobedience of court order against the national secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Samuel Anyanwu and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Joash Amupitan, according to PUNCH online on Thursday April 22, 2026.

The court, in Form 48 dated 20th April 2026, cited by our correspondent on Tuesday, warned that they risk imprisonment if they fail to comply with its January 12, 2026, judgment dismissing Anyanwu’s suit challenging his expulsion from the PDP.

In the FCT High Court, public notice in Suit No. CV/1050/2025, Anyanwu is listed as the respondent, while key PDP figures, including Damagum, representing the party’s National Executive Committee, are listed alongside others as judgment creditors/applicants.

Also listed in the matter is the INEC chairman, Amupitan.

The notice, titled Form 48, warned of the consequences of disobedience to the judgment of the court delivered on January 12, 2026.

It read, “Take notice that unless you stop further disobedience and comply forthwith/obey the judgment/order of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, made on the 12th of January 2026, which dismissed the suit of Senator Samual N. Anyanwu challenging his expulsion from the Peoples Democratic Party, you will be guilty of contempt and you will be liable to be committed to prison.”

It was specifically directed at Senator Anyanwu and Prof Amupitan, with service indicated at their respective Abuja addresses, in line with enforcement procedures following the court’s ruling.

The PDP has been mired in a prolonged crisis, splitting into two factions: one led by Tanimu Turaki (SAN) and backed by Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), and the other led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, with the support of FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

Several suits filed by both camps are still pending in court.

On March 10, 2025, the party’s National Disciplinary Committee recommended the expulsion of Anyanwu over alleged anti-party activities, a decision later ratified by the leadership.

On November 15, 2025, during the disputed Ibadan convention, the party under Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum expelled Anyanwu, Wike, and Ayodele Fayose, though the courts later nullified the convention.

Anyanwu subsequently approached the FCT High Court in Suit No. CV/1050/2025, but on January 12, 2026, Justice Yusuf Halilu dismissed the case.

He then filed an appeal on April 10, 2026, at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.

Despite the legal battles, Anyanwu played a key role in the Wike-backed convention held March 29–30, 2026, in Abuja, which produced Mohammed as national chairman and retained him as national secretary, a leadership later recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Seeking redress, the Tanimu Turaki-led faction, in a strongly worded letter dated April 16, 2026, and addressed to INEC Chairman, Prof Amupitan, through its counsel, Abdullahi Ibrahim (SAN), called for the immediate withdrawal of recognition of Anyanwu as both a party member and national secretary.

The letter referenced the January 12, 2026, judgment of the FCT High Court, delivered by Justice Halilu in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/1050/2025, which dismissed Anyanwu’s case and upheld his expulsion from the PDP.

The leadership maintained that Anyanwu lost his membership from the date of his expulsion and therefore lacks the legal authority to act on behalf of the party in any capacity.

It further argued that the notice of appeal filed on April 10, 2026, did not amount to a stay of execution, stressing that the judgment remained valid and enforceable under Section 287(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The letter read, “Senator Samuel Anyanwu has ceased to be a member and officer of the Peoples Democratic Party and has no competence to act on behalf of the party in any capacity whatsoever since his expulsion…

“By implication, the judgment dismissing his case remains subsisting and in force, and the commission has a constitutional obligation to enforce, comply with, and implement the judgment… even without prompting from the Peoples Democratic Party.”

Turaki camp warned that “Should the commission fail, refuse or neglect to comply with our demands and give any further recognition to Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the national secretary of the party, we shall have no further recourse to the commission regarding the necessary steps we shall take in ensuring that justice is done in this matter and to our clients, which steps may include filing contempt proceedings against the chairman of the commission as well as instituting an action to challenge the decision of the commission.”