The Kabiru Turaki (SAN) faction of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking a mandatory order to compel the Nigeria Police Force to unseal the party’s national secretariat and other offices nationwide.
In a Motion on Notice filed by their lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), the plaintiffs are requesting a mandatory injunction directing the Inspector-General of Police to remove all barricades, withdraw personnel, and reopen the party headquarters, which has been sealed since November following a violent clash between two rival PDP groups.
The crisis erupted when the Turaki-led faction and another group loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, attempted to hold separate meetings at the same venue on the same day. Police intervention, which included the firing of tear gas, led to the sealing of the building with barbed wire, a move that has since prevented the Turaki-led National Working Committee from holding its postponed inaugural meeting.
Turaki emerged as national chairman during a party convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November.
However, the Wike-aligned faction has rejected the outcome, contending that the convention violated existing court orders restraining the PDP from conducting the exercise.
