FCT High Court Issues Contempt Notice to PDP Secretary Anyanwu and INEC Chairman Over Disobedience of Court Order
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has issued a Form 48 notice of consequences of disobedience of court order against Senator Samuel Anyanwu, National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Prof. Joash Amupitan, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The notice, dated 20 April 2026, warns that both men risk committal to prison for contempt of court if they fail to comply with the court’s judgment of 12 January 2026, which dismissed Anyanwu’s suit challenging his expulsion from the PDP.
In Suit No. CV/1050/2025, Anyanwu is listed as respondent, while PDP leaders including Umar Damagum, representing the National Executive Committee, are named as judgment creditors/applicants. The notice was served at the Abuja addresses of Anyanwu and Amupitan in line with enforcement procedures.
The PDP remains deeply divided, with rival factions led by Tanimu Turaki (SAN) and Abdulrahman Mohammed, backed respectively by Governors Seyi Makinde and Bala Mohammed, and by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. Multiple suits arising from the crisis are pending before various courts.
The Turaki faction, through counsel Abdullahi Ibrahim (SAN), has formally petitioned INEC to withdraw recognition of Anyanwu as national secretary, citing the subsisting judgment of Justice Yusuf Halilu delivered on 12 January 2026. They argue that Anyanwu’s appeal filed on 10 April 2026 does not operate as a stay of execution, stressing that under Section 287(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the judgment remains binding and enforceable.
The faction warned that continued recognition of Anyanwu by INEC could trigger contempt proceedings against the commission’s chairman and further litigation to enforce compliance.
