The Accusation: INEC in Breach of Specific Judiciary Directives
The legal and structural crisis enveloping the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) worsened as party chieftain and legal practitioner Anthony Ehilebo publicly accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of operating in active disobedience of a valid court order.
Speaking on Channels Television, Ehilebo exposed a critical bureaucratic contradiction: a binding judicial decree specifically explicitly forbade INEC from accepting or processing any official PDP communication that did not carry the signature of Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Ilia Damagu.
"INEC is acting in flagrant disobedience of a specific, valid court order. Justice Petu issued a strict judgment stating clearly that nobody from INEC should receive any party correspondence that was not signed by Ambassador Ilia Damagu, while also protecting Damagu's tenure until December 9, 2025. Yet, on November 3, 2025, a letter was received by INEC introducing a parallel factional chairman, Abdraman. How does INEC legally recognize this new structure through a backchannel letter that directly violates a subsisting court decree?" — Anthony Ehilebo
Ironically, Ehilebo revealed that the original restrictive court order was engineered by the pro-Wike faction of the party, who at the time assumed Damagu would remain completely subservient to their political directives. "Today, that very maneuver has come back to haunt them," Ehilebo remarked.
The Legal Framework: Expulsions, Appeals, and the 608th NWC Mandate
To cut through the chaotic public messaging, Ehilebo outlined the binding legal timeline and court rulings that the current INEC-recognized leadership is allegedly hiding from the public:
[608th NWC Meeting]
│
▼
[Kamal Najib & Secretary Expelled] ──► (Upheld by Court: Jan 12, 2026)
│
▼
[Appeals Court Review (Ibadan)]
• Reaffirmed Suspensions/Expulsions
• Ruled Factional Officers Cannot Act Legally
│
▼
[INEC Accepts Defiant Letters] ──► *CRITICAL BREACH OF JUDICIAL DECREE*
The 608th NWC Meeting: This session officially suspended key officials, including Kamal Najib and the current standing secretary. Crucially, the party’s Disciplinary Committee, headed by Tom, recommended full expulsion.
The January 12, 2026 High Court Ruling: While a caveat was initially placed on the expulsions pending litigation, the High Court formally refused to grant relief to the affected members, legally validating the NWC's expulsion orders.
The Court of Appeal Reiteration: Sitting in Ibadan, the Court of Appeal reviewed the double-pronged Supreme Court judgment that nullified the November 15 and 16 conventions. The appellate court explicitly clarified that the Supreme Court did not invalidate the decisions of the 608th NWC meeting. The lead appellate judge noted verbatim that the affected officers remain legally suspended and possess no standing to deploy legal representation (such as JB Daw) on behalf of the PDP.
The Power Dynamic: Ehilebo concluded by warning that Nyesom Wike is leveraging his dual influence as FCT Minister and an ally of the presidency to control security apparatuses and extract favorable legal outcomes. However, he maintained that because the appellate court's validation of the 608th NWC expulsions remains unchallenged, the current leadership recognized by INEC sits on a legally hollow foundation.
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