The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday dismissed a suit filed by Samuel Anyanwu seeking to reclaim his position as National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after his lawyer conceded that the matter had been overtaken by events as the tenure in question expired in December 2025.
Justice Mohammed Umar dismissed the case following an application for withdrawal by Anyanwu’s counsel, U. C. Njemanze-Aku, who told the court it was improper to continue with a case that was no longer actionable.
The suit, which had named the PDP, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and several party officials as defendants, sought judicial enforcement of the Supreme Court’s March 2025 ruling that had originally reinstated Anyanwu. However, the tenure for which he was reinstated has since lapsed.
During proceedings, defendants’ lawyers argued the suit should not have been filed and requested costs as high as ₦1.5 million. INEC’s lawyer, Akintayo Balogun, described the case as one that “ought not to have been instituted in the first place.”
In response, Njemanze-Aku defended the withdrawal, stating it was a responsible move to avoid wasting judicial time due to circumstances beyond his client’s control, and urged the court not to penalize Anyanwu.
Justice Umar, in his ruling, dismissed the suit. On the issue of costs, he noted that the delay was not attributable to any party and ruled, “The situation made it so. For this reason, I award no cost.”
The legal battle over the PDP national secretary position began after Anyanwu vacated the office to contest the 2023 Imo State governorship election. Following a protracted factional dispute and a series of court judgments—including a Supreme Court victory for Anyanwu in March 2025—he filed this latest suit to formally assert his position. However, with the expiration of the party’s elected national executive committee’s term, the core of his claim became moot.
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