The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by Senator Samuel Anyanwu, a factional National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), seeking official recognition as the party’s national secretary.
Justice Mohammed Umar struck out the suit on Tuesday after it was established that Anyanwu’s tenure as PDP National Secretary expired in December 2025, rendering the matter academic.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025, was originally filed against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and former Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagun, as the first and second defendants.
In an ex-parte application filed on February 13, 2025, Anyanwu, through his counsel Ken Njemanze, sought interim orders restraining INEC from recognising or acting on any PDP correspondence not signed by him, and barring Damagun from forwarding any PDP correspondence signed solely by the acting chairman without his countersignature.
The court later expanded the list of defendants to include the PDP, Sunday Udeh-Okoye, Dr Ali Odela, and Mr Setonji Koshoedo.
When the case was called, Anyanwu’s counsel informed the court that his client’s tenure had expired in December 2025, noting that the circumstances had overtaken the suit.
“In the interest of justice, I apply to withdraw this matter to save the time of the court,” he said.
Counsel for INEC and other defendants urged the court to dismiss the case and award costs, requesting N1 million each. However, Anyanwu’s counsel opposed the request, arguing that the withdrawal was necessitated by circumstances beyond their control.
After considering submissions from all parties, Justice Umar dismissed the suit and declined to award costs, stating that the situation was not caused by any party.
“The matter is hereby dismissed,” he ruled, adding that “the delay is not on any of the parties. The situation made it so. For this reason, I award no cost.”
The dispute over the PDP National Secretary position began after Anyanwu left the office to contest the 2023 Imo State governorship election, which he lost. His attempt to return to the position led to internal party tension, with Sunday Udeh-Okoye claiming the seat.
In December 2024, the Court of Appeal in Enugu recognised Udeh-Okoye as the authentic PDP National Secretary, but the Supreme Court later overturned the decision in March 2025, reinstating Anyanwu. Despite the apex court’s ruling, leadership disputes persisted within the party, leading Anyanwu to file the fresh suit in Abuja.