(The FCT High Court. Photo by Public Procurement)
Samuel Anyanwu, the national secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, and Prof. Joash Amupitan, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, have received a notice of consequences for disobeying a court order from the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.
In Form 48 dated April 20, 2026, which our correspondent referenced on Tuesday, the court threatened to arrest them if they disregarded its January 12, 2026, ruling that dismissed Anyanwu’s lawsuit contesting his expulsion from the PDP.
Anyanwu is named as the respondent in the FCT High Court’s public notice in Suit No. CV/1050/2025, while prominent PDP figures, such as Damagum, who represents the party’s National Executive Committee, are listed with others as judgment creditors/applicants.
Amupitan, the chairman of INEC, is also mentioned in the affair.
The notice, known as Form 48, warned of the repercussions of disobeying the court’s January 12, 2026, ruling.
“Take notice that you will be guilty of contempt and you will be liable to be committed to prison unless you stop further disobedience and comply forthwith/obey the judgment/order of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, made on January 12th, 2026, which dismissed the suit of Senator Samual N. Anyanwu challenging his expulsion from the Peoples Democratic Party.”
In accordance with the enforcement processes that followed the court’s decision, it was expressly addressed to Senator Anyanwu and Professor Amupitan, with service specified at their respective Abuja locations.
Due to a protracted disagreement, the PDP has divided into two factions: one led by Tanimu Turaki (SAN) and supported 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 then filed Suit No. CV/1050/2025 with the FCT High Court; however, on January 12, 2026, Justice Yusuf Halilu rejected the case.
On April 10, 2026, he then submitted an appeal to the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
Despite the legal disputes, Anyanwu was instrumental in the Wike-sponsored convention that took place in Abuja on March 29–30, 2026, and produced Mohammed as national chairman and kept him as national secretary. The Independent National Electoral Commission later acknowledged this leadership.
In an aggressive letter dated April 16, 2026, the Tanimu Turaki-led group demanded compensation 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…
“Implicitly, the ruling rejecting 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.”
The Turaki camp issued a warning, saying, “If the commission fails, refuse or neglect to comply with our demands and give any further recognition to Senator Samual 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.”
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