Three prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have filed a petition before the National Judicial Council (NJC), urging disciplinary action against Justice A. L. Akintola of the Oyo State High Court for allegedly issuing an order that contradicts a subsisting judgment of the Federal High Court.
The petitioners — Austin Nwachukwu, Amah Nnanna, and Turnah George — are plaintiffs in an ongoing suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja (Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025). They are widely regarded as allies of Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who has openly opposed the planned PDP national convention.
On October 30, the Federal High Court in Abuja barred the PDP from holding its national elective convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
However, in a surprising twist, the Oyo State High Court on November 4 granted an ex parte order directing the PDP and its Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, to proceed with preparations for the same convention.
In their petition to the NJC, Nwachukwu, Nnanna, and George accused Justice Akintola of judicial overreach, claiming his order directly contradicts — and attempts to override — the binding decision of the Federal High Court.
“Even a non-lawyer knows that a State High Court lacks the authority to function as an appellate court over a decision of the Federal High Court,” they wrote.
They argued that Justice Akintola’s order amounted to “judicial indiscretion and abuse of office,” saying his actions effectively placed him in a position to review and vary the Abuja court’s judgment — something they described as a blatant violation of judicial hierarchy.
The petition noted that the Federal High Court’s earlier judgment, delivered by Justice Omotosho, was widely publicized on national television networks including NTA, TVC, Arise News, and Channels Television, and was extensively reported by major newspapers such as Daily Trust and The Nation.
Given this visibility, the petitioners claimed Justice Akintola “cannot feign ignorance” of the previous ruling.
They urged the NJC to investigate the judge and take appropriate action to “sanitise the judicial space” and prevent further erosion of public confidence in the judiciary.
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