The Supreme Court of Nigeria has reserved judgment on the appeal filed by the embattled Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Samuel Anyanwu, who is challenging his removal from office.
Anyanwu, who was sacked by the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, is seeking to overturn the decision and has urged the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment that upheld his removal, arguing that the case falls outside the jurisdiction of the courts as it concerns internal party affairs.
The appeal, marked SC/CV/82/2025, was filed after Anyanwu contested the majority decision of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the Federal High Court ruling that removed him as PDP National Secretary and recognised Sunday Udey-Okoye as his successor.
Anyanwu argues that the courts have no jurisdiction over matters related to party leadership and membership, which are governed by the party’s internal rules.
During the hearing, Anyanwu’s counsel, Ken Njemanze (SAN), emphasised that party leadership issues are non-justiciable, and that the lower courts had erred in their decisions by failing to consider the PDP’s constitutional procedures for resolving internal disputes. Njemanze further argued that the PDP constitution mandates specific steps for removing an officer, including resignation or removal, and Anyanwu had not resigned nor been removed through the prescribed processes.
The respondents, including the PDP and National Chairman Iliya Damagun, urged the court to dismiss the appeal. Senior counsel Erokoro cited previous rulings that political party disputes fall under internal matters, beyond the reach of the courts. He also maintained that Anyanwu had resigned in line with the PDP constitution.
The Supreme Court, however, questioned whether it had the authority to decide who should hold office in a political party, and after hearing both sides, the five-member panel, led by Justice Uwani Musa Abba-Aji, reserved judgment.
The Court also struck out Anyanwu’s motion for a stay of execution after it was withdrawn without objection from the parties involved.
Judgment on the case will be delivered at a later date, which will be communicated to the parties.
