NNPP Faction Celebrates Abuja Court Ruling, Kwankwaso Group Kicks

Members of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) on Wednesday gathered at the Apapa, Lagos office of the party’s founder, Boniface Aniebonam, to celebrate a recent High Court judgment delivered in Abuja.
The celebration followed a ruling by the Federal Capital Territory High Court which directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the National Working Committee led by Agbo Major, effectively rejecting the faction aligned with Rabiu Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya Movement.
Party supporters, alongside members of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), were seen singing, dancing, and offering prayers of thanksgiving over what they described as a legal victory.
However, the Kwankwasiyya group has rejected the ruling. In a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, the group described the judgment as “patently illegal” and vowed to challenge it on appeal. The ruling was delivered by Justice Bello Kawu.
Reacting, Aniebonam criticised the statement, describing attacks on the judiciary as “unfortunate and regrettable.” He argued that any fresh appeal could amount to an abuse of court process, citing an existing appeal on the same matter pending before the Court of Appeal in Owerri, Imo State, arising from an earlier Abia High Court ruling.
Aniebonam maintained that the NNPP, which he said he registered in 2001, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Kwankwaso and his allies in 2022, but alleged that the agreement had since lapsed and the group expelled. He accused the faction of attempting to hijack the party structure.
The protracted legal dispute continues to deepen divisions within the NNPP, with both factions laying claim to the party’s leadership and legitimacy ahead of future political contests.