- Safiu Kehinde
The Tanimu Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has threatened legal action against the party’s faction backed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, over plan to take over the party’s national secretariat.
NPO Reported that the faction’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, had yesterday announced that the Wadata Plaza will be unsealed on Monday with the faction taking full control of the party’s affairs.
Anyanwu made this known at the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) office in Abuja after the commission’s consultative meeting with all political parties.
INEC had invited the Wike-backed faction to represent the PDP at the meeting- a development Anyannwu claimed to be a testament of the commission’s recognition of the faction as the only official national leadership of the party.
Reacting in a statement issued on Friday by the Turaki-PDP’ National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the party reiterated that the Wike-backed faction remains expelled.
Ememobong disclosed that the party has written to the Nigerian Police Force over the development.
He held that there is a pending legal case over which barred the unsealing of the Wadata Plaza.
The PDP spokesperson warned against the faction’s plan to take over the complex, labelling such attempt as affront to the time-tested principle of law that parties who have submitted to the jurisdiction of courts should not act in ways that will render nugatory, the powers of the Court.
He maintained that attempt to unseal the secretariat will amount to contempt of court with the Turaki-led faction taking legal actions against it.
The statement read; “We have been notified of the intention of some expelled members of our party to either forcibly or in connivance with security forces gain access to and occupy our National Secretariat and other party property.
“In response to this, we have written to the Inspector General of and the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command reminding them that the secretariat is still a res before the Federal High Court, Abuja, and the Court of Appeal.
“To this end, any attempt to enter and occupy this property will be a resort to self-help and an affront to the time-tested principle of law that parties who have submitted to the jurisdiction of courts should not act in ways that will render nugatory, the powers of the Court.
“In this particular instance, the case pending before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik was instituted by the expelled members, they cannot resort to self-help, until judgment is delivered in the matter.
“This statement serves to remind all the dramatis personae, especially the Police Force, which is a party on record in the said matter, that any action taken to grant access to anybody, pending the determination of the suit, is a contempt of the court.
“We assure that we will deploy all legal means to defend our property from trespass.
“Responsibility for any injury to persons or damage to property arising therefrom should be placed solely on the aggressors and their security collaborators.”