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The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday, July 17, 2025, took a decisive step forward in the ongoing legal battle between Hon. Stephen Abraham Ajiya and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alongside three other defendants, over the disputed outcome of the PDP North Central Zonal Congress held on May 24, 2025, in Jos, Plateau State.

At the court session presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite in Court 8, the matter, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1111/2025, came up for mention. Legal representatives present included S.C. Uchendu and C.O. Onyemachi for the plaintiff, Hon. Stephen Ajiya, while B.F. Folarunsho appeared for the PDP and Tracy O. Ibo represented the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Addressing the court, Counsel to Hon. Ajiya, S.C. Uchendu, confirmed that while the PDP and INEC had been duly served, multiple attempts to personally serve the 2nd and 3rd defendants — Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammed and the Chairman of the PDP North Central Zonal Election Appeal Panel — had proved unsuccessful. Consequently, he informed the court that he had filed a motion seeking leave to serve both defendants through substituted means by pasting the court documents at the gate of the PDP National Headquarters in Wuse Zone 5, Abuja.

Efforts by Counsel to the PDP to interfere with the motion were firmly resisted by Ajiya’s legal team. Uchendu argued that the motion in question was solely for the purpose of ensuring fair hearing for the unserved defendants and that opposing counsel had no legal standing to obstruct its progression. The court concurred with this position and allowed Uchendu to proceed with the motion.

After moving the motion, the court granted the application for substituted service and ordered that Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammed and the Chairman of the Appeal Panel be served by pasting the relevant court processes at the PDP National Headquarters in Abuja. The matter was subsequently adjourned to October 28, 2025, for hearing.

The suit brought by Hon. Stephen Ajiya challenges the conduct and outcome of the PDP North Central Zonal Congress, which he describes as fundamentally flawed and illegitimate. Ajiya is contesting that the congress was riddled with electoral malpractices, manipulation, vote-buying, and procedural violations. He asserts that the statutory 21-day notice required to be given to INEC ahead of the congress was invalid, as it was not signed and countersigned by the PDP National Secretary, Senator Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu, thereby voiding the entire exercise.

Ajiya is also challenging the eligibility of Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammed to have contested in the congress, alleging that he failed to resign from his then-position as PDP Deputy National Auditor within the legally stipulated period before contesting, which ought to have disqualified him.

The plaintiff is seeking a court order to nullify the entire zonal congress or, in the alternative, to declare him the rightful winner, having been the only lawfully qualified aspirant under the party’s constitution and Nigeria’s electoral laws.

With the court’s approval for substituted service and the adjournment for substantive hearing, the case now enters a crucial phase that could have significant implications for the PDP’s internal structure and credibility, particularly in the North Central region.

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