The Federal Capital Territory Chief Magistrate Court on Tuesday arraigned the former National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Shehu Gabam, over alleged misappropriation, breach of trust and forgery involving party funds.
Gabam was docked before Chief Magistrate Amauche Onyedium alongside the party’s former National Youth Leader, Chukwuma Uchechukwu, in suit No. DCC/10/2026.
The criminal complaint was instituted by the current SDP National Chairman, Sadiq Gombe, under relevant provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
At the hearing, Gabam pleaded not guilty to the allegations levelled against him before the court.
The court subsequently admitted the former SDP chairman to bail in the sum of N3m with two sureties who must possess landed property in Abuja.
Chief Magistrate Onyedium also ordered Gabam to deposit his international passport with the court registrar pending the determination of the case.
The matter was thereafter adjourned until May 25 for further hearing.
Speaking with journalists after the proceedings, Gombe described the court action as part of efforts to restore accountability and discipline within the opposition party, saying the leadership resorted to legal action after petitions submitted to relevant agencies allegedly yielded no response.
He said, “We are happy with the court decision as we have confidence in the ability of the judiciary to do justice to the millions of members of the SDP. This is not about us but the institution. The SDP is an institution governed by law through its constitution, the Electoral Act and the country’s constitution.
“What we are doing now is to cleanse the party and reset it. If we are present candidates who will be president, governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives, State Houses of Assembly, chairmen, and councillors, I think at the party level we are supposed to cleanse it to make it corruption-free.
“That is why we embarked on the cleansing procedure. In the process, an audit report was submitted to INEC, in which we disclosed that during the period under review, we met only N32m, of which N31m was squandered.”
The internal crisis within the SDP deepened in October 2025 after Gabam, Uchechukwu, and the party’s National Auditor, Clarkson Nnadi, were expelled over allegations of misconduct and financial impropriety.
Following the allegations, the party constituted an independent disciplinary committee to investigate the matter and submit recommendations to the leadership.
The SDP National Working Committee later adopted the committee’s white paper and formally announced the expulsion of Gabam and Uchechukwu over alleged gross misconduct and abuse of office.
The decision was subsequently endorsed by the party’s 36 state chairmen.
The current leadership of the party maintained that the court action was aimed at restoring transparency, accountability and discipline within the SDP.
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